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ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

THE LIFE OF

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

By THE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS, M.A.

VICAR OF LAMPETER

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

ARTHUR M. CURTEIS, M.A.

FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

AND WITH NOTES BY

HENRY KETCHAM

ILLUSTRATED

A. L. BURT COMPANY, o» o» i jt
^ * * PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK

Copyright, 1902,

By E. a. brainerd,

65V

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction v

CHAPTER I.
Of the Birth, Education, and early Life of Alexander. . • • 1

CHAPTER II.
The Assassination of Philip 14

CHAPTER III.
Transactions in Europe previous to the Invasion of Asia. 18

CHAPTER IV.

State of the Civilized World, and of the Resources of the
two Contending Parties, at the period of Alexander's In-
vasion of Asia 46

CHAPTER V.
First Campaign of Asia 51

CHAPTER VI.
The Second Campaign in Asia, B. C. 333 85

CHAPTER VII.
Third Campaign, B. C. 332 117

• • •

111

iv CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER VIII.
Fourth Campaign, B. C. 331 143

CHAPTER IX.
Fifth Campaign, B. C. 330 178

CHAPTER X.
The Sixth Campaign, B. C. 329 201

CHAPTER XI.
Seventh Campaign, B. C. 328 234

< haiti: re xir.

Eighth Campaign, B. C. 327 239

CHAPTER XIII.
Ninth Campaign, B. C. 32G 272

CHAPTER XIV.
Ninth Campaign, B. C. 325 319

I CHAPTER XV.
Transactions of the Tenth Year in Asia, B. C. 324 340

CHAPTER XVI.
Last Year of Alexander's Life, B.C. 323 383

INTRODUCTION.

BY ARTHUR M. CURTEIS, M. A.

Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

It has been said that none of mortal birth ever
went through such an ordeal as Alexander the Great ^
and Arrian insists on certain points which ought not
to be forgotten in forming an estimate of his hero.
He was the son of the able and unscrupulous Philip
and of the violent Olympias. He was brought up in
a court notoriously licentious. He was a king at
twenty — the greatest monarch of the world before
thirty. A general who never knew defeat, he was
-urrounded by men vastly inferior to himself, who
intrigued for his favor and flattered his weakness.
Thus inheriting a fierce and ambitious temper, and
placed in circumstances calculated to foster it, it
would have been little short of a miracle had Alex-
ander shown a character without alloy. To stand on
a pinnacle of greatness higher than man had ever

iched before, and to be free at the same time from
vanity, would have required a combination of virtues
impossible before Christ, perhaps never possible,^
Alexander was beyond question vain, impulsive, pas-

Vi INTRODUCTION.

sionate, at times furious ; but he had strong affections,
and called out strong affections in others. (A man of
energy and ambition, he was the hardest worker of
his day both in body and mind. Incapable of fear,
he foresaw difficulties or combinations which others
never dreamed of, and provided against them with
successj Amid endless temptations this son of Philip
remained comparatively pure. Unlike his fellow-
countrymen, he was (says Arrian) no great drinker, '
though he loved a banquet and its genial flow of con-
versation. On one point in his character Arrian
dwells with an admiration in which we may heartily
join. Alexander, he says, stood almost alone in his
readiness to acknowledge and express regret for hav-
ing done wrong. That in his later days, and when he
had succeeded to the position of the Great King, he
adopted the Persian dress and customs may be
ascribed to the same motive which induced him him-
self to marry, and to press his officers and soldiers to
marry, Asiatic women, a politic desire not indeed to
ape the ways of foreigners, but to amalgamate his
diverse subjects into one body. And if, over and
above this, he went so far as to claim divine honors
as the son of a god, we may remember that of all men
Greeks were most easily thrown off their balance by
extraordinary prosperity, as were Miltiades and
Alkibiades, Pausanias and Lysandros, and that few
men of his day or country were more susceptible to
the charm of heroic and legendary associations than
was Alexander. Elated, therefore, by success, and
genuinely wrought upon by the legends which were as

INTRODUCTION. vii

the air ho breathed, he sot an extravagant value on
obtaining a public recognition of the super-human
nature of hid pow< re, in which, perhaps, he had even
(•Mine to believe himself.

It has been Baid in depreciation of Alexander that
hia conquests were needle-.- and the bloodshed wan-
ton, that lie gave the final Btroke to the ruin of free
Bellas, and that whatever benefits Asia derived from
it- conquests by Greeks were due rather to Alexan-
der's bu< >rs than to himself. These objections are
in the spirit as they are true in the letter.
For on the first of these points we shall go altogether
astray unless we place ourselves at the point of view
of a Greek of the fourth century. His view of the
relation- h tween himself and a barbarian (and all
who were not Greeks were barbarians) was something
similar to that of a mediaeval Christian towards a
Mohammedan, or of a Mohammedan towards an in-
fidel The natural state of things between them was
war; and for the vanquished there remained death
to the men, slavery or worse for women and children.
Any milder treatment was magnanimous clemency.
For years before Alexander, the idea of a war of re-
vel (gainst Persia had been rife. That he should
invade Asia, therefore, and put down the Great King,

and harry and day his subjects, would seem to almost

( - eek right and proper.

A few here and there indeed were eleardioaded

enough to see that the elevation <>{ ICacedon meant
thed of all of fn ( •. It clearly was so. And

yet, if we look the facts in the face, we observe (be

yiij INTRODUCTION.

free life of Greece in the fourth century assuming a
phase incompatible in the long run with freedom. It
was the day of orators, not of statesmen or warriors —
of timid action and peace at any price. It was a time
of isolation, when (thanks to Sparta) the glorious
opportunity of a free Hellenic nation had been forever
lost, and when the narrow Greek notion of political
life within the compass of city walls and no further
had reasserted itself. It was the day of mercenary
forces, when free men talked of freedom but did not
fight for it. It was a time of corruption, when politi-
cians could be bought, and would sell their country's
honor. Indeed, considering that the hegemony of
Macedon was distinctly less oppressive than that of
Sparta, we may well believe that while cities, like
Athens or Sparta, which had once been leaders them-
selves felt a real humiliation in subjection to Mace-
don, many less prominent states felt it to be a change
for the better, in proportion as such government was
less oppressive than rulers of the type of the Spartan
harmosts or the Thirty Tyrants at Athens. Tech-
nically the Macedonian conquest did put an end to
Hellenic freedom. On the other hand, that freedom
was fast tending towards, if in some cases it had not
already passed into, the anarchy which belies free-
dom, or the pettiness which cramps it.

Lastly, we may allow that in all probability Alex-
ander neither intended nor foresaw half the benefits
which resulted from his career to Asia and the world,
without saying more than has to be said of every man
iof commanding and progressive ideas. It is not, as a

INTRODUCTION. lx

rule, given to men to see the fruit of their labors.
[Nevertheless the world combines to honor those who
initiate its varied steps of progress. The change for
the better which Alexander's conquests made in Asia
can hardly be exaggerated. Order look the place of
disorder. The vast accumulations of the Persian
kings, lying idle in their coffers, were once more
brought into circulation, and at least tended to stimu-
late energy and commercial activity. Cities were
founded in great numbers. New channels of com-
munication were opened between the ends of the
empire. Confidence was restored ; and it may fairly
be added that only the king's own premature death
cut short the far-sighted plans which he had devised
for the gradual elevation of his Asiatic subjects to the
level of his European, and which, indeed, had already
begun to work the results which he intended. It is
true we can trace no signs of political reform in
Alexander's projects ; but Asiatics had never known
any but despotic government, and beyond question
were unfit for any other; while a king of Macedon
would probably look on government by free assem-
blies with as much contempt and suspicion as a Tsar
of Russia in our own day. Even Greece, which
gained no direct benefit from the Macedonian empire,
was yet indirectly a gainer, in the fact that it was her
language which was the medium of communication,
her literature which modified the religion that came
back to her and to Europe from Asia. It was Alex-*
ander who planted that literature and language in
[Asia; and it was to Alexander that the great

X INTRODUCTION.

Christian cities of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexan-
dria always looked back with reverence as in some
sort their founder and benefactor.

It would be difficult to conclude this short sketch of
a heroic life more aptly than in the words of Bishop
Thirlwall. " Alexander was one of the greatest of
earth's sons — great above most for what he was in
himself, and, not as many who have borne the title,
for what was given to him to effect; great in the
course which his ambition took, and the collateral
aims which ennobled and purified it, so that it almost
grew into one with the highest of which man is
capable, the desire of knowledge and the love of good
— in a word, great as one of the benefactors of his
kind."

AUTHOK'S PBEFACE.

Greece, its islands, and the western part of Asia
Minor, have, from the earliest ages, been the prin-
cipal scene of the great struggle between the eastern
and western worlds. Between the European and
Asiatic, even under the same latitude, there exists
a marked difference in feelings, manners and char-
acter. That this difference is independent of climate
and of country, and attributable to long-established
habits, and a system of education transmitted down
from the remotest ages, is apparent from the well-
known facts, that the Greek at Seleucia on the
Tigris, at Palmyra, Antioch, and the Egyptian Alex-
andria, continued to be still a Greek ; while the Arab
in Andalusia and Grenada was still an Arab, and
the Turk in Europe has retained all the feelings,
manners and customs of his oriental ancestors. It is
not wonderful therefore that two races, so inherently
different from each other, should, where limitary, be
engaged in perpetual warfare. The great struggle
has, in general, been in the vicinity of those narrow
seas that separate Europe from Asia. It has now con-
tinued, with strange vicissitudes, for more than six-

xi

Xii AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

and-twenty centuries, and longer too, if we add well-
founded traditions to historical records, and yet there
appears no sign of an approaching termination. By
a curious inversion of their relative positions, the Eu-
ropeans are on the banks of the Ganges and on the
shores of the Caspian, and the Asiatics on the banks
of the Danube and the shores of the Adriatic.
But my present object is, not to trace the result
of the struggle down to our days, but to give a
short sketch of its leading events previous to the
invasion of Asia by Alexander.

I pass over the conquest of the Peloponnesus by
the Phrygian Pelops, the establishment of a Phoeni-
cian colony in Boeotia, and of other oriental settlers
in various parts of Greece. I dwell not on the Argo-
nautic expedition, the conquest of Troy by Hercules,
the seizure and occupation of Rhodes and its depend-
ant islands bv his immediate descendants, not from
any doubt of the facts, but because they are not in
the right line that conducts us down to the expedition
of Alexander.

The result of the second Trojan war was far dif-
ferent, as the superiority attained by the Europeans
in that contest enabled them to seize all the inter-
vening islands, and to occupy the whole Asiatic coast,
from Halicarnassus to Cvzicus, with their Dorian,
Ionian and ^Eolian colonies. The first and last did
not spread much, but the Ionians, the descendants of
the civilized Achaeans and Athenians, flourished
greatly, covered the seas with their fleets, and studded
the shores of the Euxine with wealthy and splendid

AUTHOR'S PREFACE. Xiii

cities. These colonists in Asia were the founders of
Grecian literature. From them sprung Homer and
Hesiod, Alcrcus and Sappho, Thales and Herodotus.
And had they possessed a system of civil polity
adapted for the purpose, they possessed strength,
knowledge and energy sufficient to have conquered
all Asia. But their circle of action was narrowed
by their confined views of constitutional governments.
Even Aristotle, superior as he was to his countrymen,
wrote, in much later times, that a hundred thousand
and ^.ve thousand citizens were numbers equally in-
compatible with the existence of a free state, as the
greater number would render deliberation impossi-
ble, and the less be inadequate for the purposes of
self-defence. This limitation was grounded on the
principle, that every Greek had an imprescriptible
right to attend and vote in the great council of the
nation, and to be eligible, in his turn, to the highest
offices of the state. To fulfil these duties ablv and
with advantage to the commonwealth, the constitu-
tion supposed all free citizens to be gentlemen or
wealthy yeomen, able to live upon their own means,
without devoting themselves to any particular pro-^
fession or pursuit. The number of such men, in
comparison with the great mass of the population
condemned to hopeless slavery was very limited.
Sparta, in the days of Aristotle, contained only nine
thousand citizens. The loss of seven hundred war-
riors, at the battle of Leuctra, had consequently
proved fatal to her Grecian supremacy. The num-
ber of Athenian citizens varied from twenty to thirty

xiv AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

thousand. When therefore one thousand, probably
the prime and flower of the nation, had fallen at
Chaeroneia, the blow was regarded as irreparable,
and all thoughts of further resistance abandoned.

Hence it is apparent that the erection of any pow-
erful monarchy, in the vicinity of states constituted
on this principle, must eventually prove fatal to their
independence. Such was the fate of the Grecian
colonies in Asia. Their neighbors, the Lydians, un-
der the government of the Mermnadse, a native dy-
nasty, had become a powerful race ; and the discovery
of the gold excavated from Mount Tmolus, or sifted
from the bed of the Pactolus, furnished them with
the means of supporting a regular army. After
a lengthened contest they therefore succeeded in re-
ducing to subjection all the continental Greeks. The
conquered and the conquerors were united by Cyrus
to his new empire, and became Persian subjects un-
der Cambyses and Darius. The Ionians revolted
from the latter, but were subdued after an unavail-
ing struggle. At the commencement of the revolt,
the Athenians sent a fleet to aid their colonists. The
combined Athenian and Ionian forces marched to
Sardes, and burnt the Lydian capital. This rash
act drew on Athens and on Greece the whole ven-
geance of the Persian monarchs. After a long and
deadly contest the Greeks repelled the invaders, pur-
sued them into Asia, and for a time liberated their
Asiatic fellow-coimtrymen. But their own civil
contests diverted their attention from foreign objects,
and their splendid victories had no further result

AUTHOR'S PREFACE. XV

The same may be said of the two campaigns of
Agesilaus in Asia, for the management of which
Xenophon has praised him far beyond his merits.
Then followed the disgraceful peace of Antalcidas,
which once more consigned the Asiatic Greeks to the
tender mercies of a Persian despot. From that
period Persia changed her policy, and spared neither
money nor intrigues in attempting to embroil the
Grecian states with each other. For this conduct she
had sufficient cause, for the expedition of the ten
thousand had revealed to the hungry Greeks her
weakness and their own strength. They had there-
fore, of late, been eager to free themselves from the
harassing contests of the numerous aristocracies and
democracies, and to unite, under one head, in a
serious and combined attack upon the Persian mon-
archy.

Jason, the Thessalian, had nearly matured his
plans, and had he not been suddenly arrested in his
career, the Greeks would have probably invaded
Asia under him as their captain-general: but his
assassination only postponed the great event.

Philip, the son of Amyntas, had followed the path
marked out by Jason ; and, by patience, prudence and
vigor, succeeded in his great object. The Thebans
and Athenians, who contested the Macedonian su-
premacy in the field, were defeated; and the Spar-
tans, too proud to submit, too weak to resist, sullenly
stood aloof from the general confederation, and with-
held their vote from the Macedonian captain-general.
But Persia was again saved from invasion by the

xvi AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

death of Philip; and Alexander succeeded to his
throne and pretensions, in the twentieth year of his
age.

Note. — The materials of the work have been principally
drawn from Arrian and Strabo. Curtius, Plutarch, and
Athenaeus, have furnished some illustrations, although I have
thought it my duty to reject many of their anecdotes.

In chronology, Mr. Fynes Clinton's Fasti Hellenici, a work
worthy of the better days of classical literature, has been my
guide. Mr. Clinton will see that I have differed from him in
the arrangement of the later years. He overlooked the winter
passed in the mountains between Cabul and the Indus, and
hence was obliged to add a year to the residence at Babylon.

In geography I have availed myself of all the labors of my
predecessors, but have also found cause to dissent from them
in many important points. My reasons for so doing are de-
tailed at length in a work now in the press, but which will
not probably make its appearance before this be published.
In the mean time, I can only request the learned reader to
suspend his judgment.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT-

CHAPTEE I.

OF THE BIRTH, EDUCATION, AND EARLY LIFE OF

ALEXANDER.

'Alexander, the third king of Macedonia of that
name, and commonly surnamed the Great, was born
at Pell a three hundred and fifty-six years before
Christ. His father Philip traced his origin through
Temenus, the first Heracleid king of Argos, to Her-
cules and Perseus. The family of his mother Olym-
pias was no less illustrious ; for thje royal race of
Epirus claimed to be lineally descended from Neop-
tolemus, Achilles, and Peleus. As he could thus
refer his origin to Jupiter by the three different lines
of Perseus, Hercules, and Peleus, it is impossible
for us in the present day to calculate the impression
made on his vouthful mind bv so illustrious a descent.
It is certain, however, that, from his earliest days, he
proposed to himself to rival, and, if possible, surpass
the renown of his ancestors.

Philip received the news of the birth of his son in>

1

2 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 356.

mediately after the capture of the city of Potidsea,
the peninsular situation of which had enabled it long
to resist the Macedonian arms. On the same day
he received intelligence of a victory gained by Par-
menio over the Illyrians, and of the success of his
horses in bearing away the first prize at the Olym-
pic games. In after times the Asiatics remarked,
with superstitious awe, that the magnificent temple
of Diana at Ephesus had been destroyed by fire on
the night of Alexander's birth, and that the general
conflagration of Asia had been typified thus early by
the destruction of its most splendid ornament. Per-
haps it ought to be remarked, as a proof of the eager
and restless spirit of the times, that the incendiary,
who ought to have remained nameless, was willing to
purchase deathless notoriety at the expense of his life,
and preferred an infamous death to an unrecorded
life. Such a state of morbid feeling could be pro-
duced only in times of great and common excite-
ment.

Nothing certain is known respecting the infancy
and childhood of Alexander. The letter which Philip
is supposed to have written to Aristotle on the birth
of the prince, is, I fear, a forgery. For it is rather
incompatible with the fact, that Aristotle did not take
the immediate charge of his duties until his pupil
had attained his fifteenth year. But as the philos-
opher's father had been the favorite physician in the
Macedonian court, it is not unlikely that even the
earlier years of the prince were under the superinten-
dence of his great preceptor, and that his primary"

Mtat. 1— 7.J EARLY EDUCATION. 3

education was conducted according to his suggestions.
If such was the case, we can easily deduce the princi-
ples on which both the earlier and more mature edu-
cation of Alexander was conducted, from Aristotle's
Treatise on Politics, where they are developed.

He divides a regular course of education into three
parts. The first comprises the period from the birth
to the completion of the seventh year. The second
from the commencement of the eighth to the comple-
tion of the eighteenth year, and the third from the
eighteenth to the twenty-first.

According to Aristotle, more care should be taken
of the body than of the mind for the first seven years:
strict attention to diet be enforced, and the infant
from his infancv habituated to bear cold. This habit
is attainable either by cold bathing or light clothing.
The eye and ear of the child should be most watch-
fully and severely guarded against contamination of
every kind, and unrestrained communication with
servants be strictly prevented. Even his amuse-
ments should be under due regulation, and rendered
as interesting and intellectual as possible.

It must always remain doubtful, how far Olym-
pias would allow such excellent precepts to be put
in execution. But it is recorded that Leonnatus,
the governor of the young prince, was an austere
man, of great severity of manner, and not likely to
relax any adopted rules. He was also a relation of
Olympias, and as such might doubtless enforce a
system upon which no stranger would be allowed to
act. The great strength, agility, and hardy habits

4 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 348.

of Alexander, are the best proofs that this part of
his education was not neglected, and his lasting af-
fection for his noble nurse Lannice, the daughter of
Dropidas, proves also that it was conducted with gen-
tleness and affection.

The intellectual education of Alexander would,
on Aristotle's plan, commence with his eighth year.
About this period of his life, Lysimachus, an Acar-
nanian, was appointed his preceptor. Plutarch gives
him an unfavorable character, and insinuates that
he was more desirous to ingratiate himself with the
royal family, than effectually to discharge the duties
of his office. It was his delight to call Philip, Peleus ;
Alexander Achilles, and to claim for himself the
honorary name of Phoenix. Early impressions are
the strongest, and even the pedantic allusions of the
Acarnanian might render the young prince more
eager to imitate his Homeric model.

Aristotle mentions four principal branches of edu-
cation as belonging to the first part of the middle
period. These are literature, gymnastics, music, and
painting, of which writing formed a subordinate
branch. As the treatise on politics was left in an
unfinished state, we have no means of defining what
was comprehended under his general term literature,
but commencing with reading and the principles of
grammar, it apparently included composition in verse
and prose, and the study of the historians and poets
of Greece. During this period the lighter gymnas-
tics alone were to be introduced, and especially such
exercises as are best calculated to promote graceful-

JEtat. 7—15.] EDUCATION— ARISTOTLE. 5

ness of manner and personal activity. Aristotle had
strong objections to the more violent exertions of the
gymnasium during early life, as he considered them
injurious to the growth of the body, and to the future
strength of the adult. In proof of this he adduces
the conclusive fact that in the long list of Olympic
victors only two, or at most, three instances had oc-
curred in which the same person had proved victor in
youth and in manhood. Premature training and over-
exertion he, therefore, regarded as injurious to the
constitution.

JSTot only the theory of painting, but also a certain
skill in handling the pencil, was to be acquired. Aris-
totle regarded this elegant art as peculiarly conduc-
ing to create a habit of order and arrangement, and
to impress the mind with a feeling of the beautiful.

JVIusic both in theory and practice, vocal and in-
struental, was considered by him as a necessary part
of education, on account of the soothing and puri-
fying effects of simple melodies, and because men,
wearied with more serious pursuits, require an ele-
gant and innocent recreation. By way of illustra-
tion, he adds that music is to the man what a rattle
is to the child. Such were the studies that occupied
the attention of the youthful Alexander between the
seventh and fourteenth year of his age. When he
was in his eleventh year, Demosthenes, ^Eschines,
and eight other leading Athenians, visited his father's
court as ambassadors, and Philip was so proud of the
proficiency of his son, that he ventured to exhibit
him before these arbiters of taste. The young

6 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 342.

prince gave specimens of his skill in playing on the
harp, in declamation, and in reciting a dramatic
dialogue with one of his youthful companions. But
if we can believe iEsehines, Demosthenes was partic-
ularly severe on the false accents and Dorian into-
nations of the noble boy.

In his fifteenth year he was placed under the im-
mediate tuition of the great philosopher, according
to whose advice I have supposed his earlier educa-
tion to have been conducted. In the year B. C. 342,
Aristotle joined his illustrious pupil, and did not
finally quit him until he passed over into Asia.

The master was worthy of his pupil, and the pupil
of his master. The mental stores of Aristotle were
vast, and all arranged with admirable accuracy and
judgment. His style of speaking and writing pure,
clear, and precise ; and his industry in accumulating
particular facts, only equalled by his sagacity in
drawing general inferences. Alexander was gifted
with great quickness of apprehension, an insatiable
desire of knowledge, and an ambition not to be satis-
fied with the second place in any pursuit.

Such a pupil under such a master must soon have
acquired a sufficient knowledge of those branches de-
scribed before, as occupying the middle period of edu-
cation. He would then enter on the final course in-
tended for the completion of his literary studies.
This comprehended what Aristotle calls Matheses,
and included the branches of human learning ar-
ranged at present under the general term mathema-
tics. To these, as far as they could be scientifically

JKtat. 15.] EDUCATION— METAPHYSICS. 7

treated, were added moral philosophy, logic, rhetoric,
the art of poetry, the theory of political government,
and the more evident principles of natural philo-
sophy. On these subjects we still possess treatises
written by Aristotle, in the first place most probably
for the use of his pupil, and afterwards published for
the public benefit.

We learn also from a letter of Alexander preserved
by Plutarch, that Aristotle had initiated his pupil in
those deep and mysterious speculations of Grecian
philosophy, which treated of the nature of the Deity,
of the human soul, of the eternity and other qualities
of matter, and of other topics which prudential rea-
sons prevented the philosopher from publicly explain-
ing. As the letter gives a lively idea of the exclusive
ambition of Alexander, I here insert it. It was occa-
sioned by the publication of Aristotle's treatise on
that branch of knowledge called from that very book
Metaphysics.

" ALEXANDER TO ARISTOTLE,
HEALTH.

Xh

ILYou did wrong in publishing those branches of
science hitherto not to be acquired except from oral
instruction. In what shall I excel others if the moro
profound knowledge I gained from you be communi-
cated to all. For my part I had rather surpass the
majority of mankind in the sublimer branches of
learning than in extent of power and dominion —
Farewell Pj?

8 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 342.

LBut the great object of Aristotle was to render his
pupil an accomplished statesman, and to qualify him
to govern with wisdom, firmness, and justice, the
great empire destined to be inherited and acquired by
him.J It was his province to impress deeply upon his
mind the truths of rnoxal philosophy, to habituate
him to practice its precepts, to store his mind with
historical facts, to teach him how to draw useful in-
ferences from them, and to explain the means best cal-
culated to promote^ the improvement and increase the
stability of empires!

It is difficult to say what were the religious opin-
ions inculcated by Aristotle on his pupil's mind. In
their effects they were decided and tolerant. We
may therefore conclude that they were the same as are
expressed by Aristotle, who maintained the universal-
ity of the Deity and the manifestation of his power
and will under various forms in various countries.

As in modern, so in ancient times, great differences
of opinion prevailed on the subject of education.
Some directed their attention principally to the con-
duct of the intellect, others to the f ormation of moral
feelings and habits, and a third party appeared more
anxious to improve the carriage and strengthen the
bodv bv healthful exercise than to enlighten the mind.
Aristotle's plan was to unite the three systems, and
to make them co-operate in the formation of the per-
fect character, called in Greek, the xaXog xai ayaOog.
In truth, no talents can compensate for the want of
moral worth ; and good intentions, separated from
talents, often inflict the deepest injuries, while their

iEtat. 16.J EDUCATION— ARISTOTLE'S VIEWS. 9

possessor wishes to confer the greatest benefits on
mankind. Nor can it be doubted, that a sound con-
stitution, elegance of manner, and gracefulness of
person, are most useful auxiliaries in carrying into
effect measures emanating from virtuous principles,
and conducted by superior talents.

It is not to be supposed that Aristotle wished to
instruct his pupil deeply in all the above-mentioned
branches of education. He expressly states that the
liberally educated man, or the perfect gentleman,
should not be profoundly scientific, because a course
of general knowledge, and what we call polite litera-
ture, is more beneficial to the mind than a complete
proficiency in one or more sciences ; a proficiency not
to be acquired without a disproportionate sacrifice of
time and labor.

It was also one of Aristotle's maxims that the
education should vary according to the destination
of the pupil in future life ; that is, supposing him
to be a gentleman, whether he was to devote himself
to a life of action, or of contemplation. Whether
he was to engage in the busy scenes of the world, and
plunge amidst the contentions and struggles of polit-
ical warfare, or to live apart from active life in
philosophic enjoyments and contemplative retire-
ment. Although the philosopher gave the preference
to the latter mode of living, he well knew that his
pupil must be prepared for the former ; for the throne
of Macedonia could not be retained by a monarch
devoted to elegant ease, literary pursuits, and refined
enjoyments. The successor of Philip ought to pos-

10 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 356.

sess the power of reasoning accurately, acting deci-
sively, and expressing his ideas with perspicuity, ele-
gance, and energy.

I have mentioned these particulars because it
would be difficult to form just conceptions of the
character of Alexander without taking into consider-
ation, not only the great advantages enjoyed by him
in early youth, but also the recorded fact that he
availed himself of these advantages to the utmost.
Amidst his various studies, however, Homer was the
god of his idolatry; the Iliad, the object of his enthu-
siastic admiration. The poet, as Aristotle emphati-
cally names him, was his inseparable companion:
from him he drew his maxims; from him he bor-
rowed his models. The preceptor partook in this
point of the enthusiasm of his pupil, and the most
accurate copy of the great poem was prepared by Aris-
totle, and placed by Alexander in the most precious
casket which he found among the spoils of Darius.

Eager as Alexander was in the pursuit of knowl-
edge, it must not be supposed that Philip would
allow his successor to form the habits of a recluse ; on
the contrary,] he early initiated him in the duties of
his high station. At the age of sixteen he was ap-
pointed Regent of Macedonians while his father was
detained at the siege of Byzantium, and on a prior
occasion astonished some Persian deputies by the
pertinency of his questions, and the acuteness of his
intellect. His studies were diversified even by the
toils of war£ and in his eighteenth year he commanded
the left wing of the army at the celebrated battle of

JEtat. 19.J PHILIP'S MARRIAGE— DEATH. H

Chseroneia, and defeated the Thebans) before Philip
had been equally successful against the Athenians.
In the following year Philip destroyed the peace
of his family by marrying Cleopatra the niece of
Attalus, one of his generals, and by disgracing, if not
divorcing, Olympias. Philip had married many
wives, but they were the sisters or daughters of
Thracian, Illyrian, and Thessalian chiefs, and prob-
ably not entitled to the honors of sovereignty. But
his marriage with a Macedonian lady of high rank
and powerful connections could only tend to a formal
rupture with Olympias. To widen the breach
Philip changed his bride's name from Cleopatra to
Eurydice, his mother's name. That this was done
by way of declaring her the legitimate queen, may
be inferred from the fact that when a princess called
Adea married Aridams, Alexander's successor, her
name also was changed into Eurydice. ( The natural
consequence was, that Alexander became suspicious
of his father's intention about the succession, and a
misunderstanding took place, which ended in the
flight or banishment of several of the prince's most
intimate friends, and in his own retirement with his
mother into her native country. Subsequently /a rec-
onciliation took place, and Olympias and the prince
returned into Macedonia.^ Alexander, the reigning
king ofJEmrus, and the brother of Olympias, accom-
panied them, and the re-union was celebrated by his
marriage with Cleopatra the daughter of Philip.
During the. festivities attendant on the nuptials,
Philip was assassinated by Pausanias, one of the

■ \

12 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 356.

great officers of his guards. As this event led some
writers to question the fair fame of Alexander, it will
be necessary, in order perfectly to understand the
subject, briefly to glance at the previous history of the
Macedonian monarchy.

( Note. — Alexander, as son of Philip II. of Macedon and Olym-
pias, may be cited as a marked instance of hereditary genius.
The two parents were possessed of marked abilities, and, wide-
ly as they differed, partly because they differed so widely, the
union has been considered ideal, at least from the intellectual
standpoint. ( Philip having spent his youth as a hostage in
Thebes, where he was practically a guest in the house of
Epaminondas the illustrious statesman and general, was
familiar with Greek culture*. Personally he was intellectual,
sagacious, crafty, and unscrupulous, a perfect specimen of
the "practical politician." Olympias, on the other hand, was
highly emotional, and, according to the barbaric idea of the
religion of that day, intensely religious. According to Plu-
tarch, in the practice of the " mysteries," or ritual, she was
" wont in the sacred dances to have about her great tame
serpents, which, sometimes creeping out of the ivy and the
mystic fans, and sometimes winding themselves about the
staffs and the chaplets which the women bore, presented a
sight of horror to the men who beheld." She was not of a
jealous disposition, but was remarkably tolerant of her hus-
band's irregularities.

From these parents Alexander received his native genius.
He also had the benefit of personal association with both of
them during the formative period of his youth, for he was in
his seventeenth year when the quarrel occurred that for a
time separated his parents. Philip, like many other intel-
lectual men — David, Solomon, Napoleon — was extremely
sensual, but he did not allow his sensuality to interfere with
his cool, calculating intellect. Nor did Olympias take offence
at the plurality of his wives and concubines until the marriage
with the Macedonian princess, Cleopatra, threatened the dis
placement of Alexander as heir to the throne.

Mt&t. 19.] TRAITS OF ALEXANDER'S PARENTS. 13

With such parents Alexander spent more than sixteen
years of his life, and his tutor was the great philosopher
Aristotle, whose philosophic thought has formed the best
thinking of the world for over two thousand years. Whether
the details of Aristotle's plan of education were perfect or
not, is a minor consideration ; the important fact is that
Alexander was intimately associated with the man behind
the philosophy.

It may further be mentioned that among the contemporaries
of Alexander were Plato, Xenophon, Isocrates, Demosthenes,
and iEschines. Though he did not personally know all these,
lie was familiar witli their names and their thoughts, and to
an alert mind like his, the very air was full of inspiration.

CHAPTEK II.

THE ASSASSINATION OF PHILIP.

Philip was slain late in the autumn of the year
B. C. 336. He had succeeded in all his projects, and
intended with the spring to lead the combined forces
of Greece into Asia. He was celebrating the nuptials
of his daughter Cleopatra with Alexander, King of
Epirus, with great pomp, and magnificence. The
religious sacrifices, the processions, the theatrical
representations, and the attendant festivities, were
on the most splendid scale, and testified to the world
the joy of Philip in being reconciled to his son and
the royal family of Epirus.

On one of these public days, Pausanias, whose
office furnished him with ample opportunities,
stabbed his sovereign to the heart as he was entering
the theatre. He was immediately cut to pieces by the
guards, who were too much attached to Philip to hesi-
tate under such circumstances. This event appears
to have paralyzed the conspirators, who apparently
were ill prepared for such a result. In the confusion
Alexander, the son of Aeropus, was the first to buckle
on his armor, to seek the prince, and escort him to
the palace. The troops and the leading Macedonians
were summoned to a tumultuary assembly and Alex-

14

JEtat. 20.] THE ASSASSINATION OF PHILIP. 15

ander was declared king by general acclamation. He
returned thanks in an energetic speech ; and expressed
his hopes that his conduct would soon cause them to
say that nothing but the name of their king had been
changed.

Even Justin allows that his first care was to put
his father's assassins to death. Pausanias had al-
ready expiated his guilt with his life. The three
leading men that suffered on the occasion, were Hero-
menes,Arrhabaeus, and Amyntas,the son of Perdiccas.
Alexander, the son of Aeropus, was also accused of
having participated in the plot, nor was there much
doubt of his guilt. His conduct after the assassina-
tion ensured his safety, although it did not prove his
innocence. Amvntas, the son of Antiochus, another
prince of the blood royal, either from fear, conscious
guilt, or treasonable intentions, escaped into Asia.
He was received with open arms by the Persian court,
and at a later period entrusted with the command of
the Greek mercenaries in the service of Darius.

It is more than probable that the conspirators were
in correspondence with the Persian court, and that
ample promises of protection and support were given
to men undertaking to deliver the empire from the
impending invasion of the Captain General of Greece.
Alerander, in his answer to the first proposals of
Darius, openly charges the Persians with having been
the instigators of his father's murder ; and the trans-
actions connected with Amyntas, the son of Antio-
chus, and Alexander the Lyncestian, hereafter to be
noticed, show that the Persian court of that day was

16 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 336.

as little scrupulous about the means of destroying a
formidable enemy as it had been in the days of
Clearchus. Demosthenes was then the principal
agent of Persia in Greece, and Charidemus, one of
his great friends and supporters, was at ^Egse when
Philip's death occurred. The event was public, and
could not be concealed. The deputies of all Greece
were assembled there ; and no private messenger from
Charidemus to Demosthenes could have outstripped
the speed with which the news of such an event
passes from mouth to mouth in a populous country;
not to mention that Charidemus would not have been
the only deputy likely to dispatch a messenger on such
an occasion. Yet Demosthenes announced the death
of Philip to the Athenian assembly long before the
news reached Athens from any other quarter. He
confirmed the truth of his assertion with an oath, and
ascribed his knowledge of the event to an immediate
revelation from Jupiter and Minerva. The accuracy
of his information and the falsehood respecting the
alleged sources of his intelligence, almost indisputa-
bly prove that he was an accessory before the fact,
and that he had previous notification of the very day
on which the conspirators were to act.*

* The reconciliation between Philip and Olympias was, as
stated above, attended with, or possibly occasioned by the
marriage between the king of Epirus, who was a brother of
Olympias, and Cleopatra a daughter of Philip. The marriage
festivities were arranged on an imperial scale. Princes and
statesmen were present, and powerful cities, including even
Athens, had their representatives at the ceremonies in honor
of the event.

^Etat. 20.] THE ASSASSINATION OF PHILIP. 17

On the second and great day of the festival, Philip walked
to the theatre ostentatiously separated from his body-guard.
The assassin, concealed near the door of the theater, felled
his victim with his sword, sprung upon a horse that was in
readiness, and might have escaped but for an accident by
which he was thrown from his horse.

The motive of the assassin, Pausanias by name, was per-
sonal, even though in carrying out the scheme he may have
become a tool of Persia. He esteemed himself grossly insulted
by Attains, a prominent general in Philip's army, tailing to
secure redress from Philip, he sought revenge by the murder
of the latter. Pausanias was a member of the king's body-
guard.
2

• .'

CHAPTEK III.

TRANSACTIONS IN EUROPE PREVIOUS TO THE
INVASION OF ASIA.

Alexander had scarcely completed his twentieth
year when he was thus suddenly called to fill his
father's place. His difficulties were great, and ene-
mies were rising on every side. The federal empire
established by Philip was threatened with instant dis-
solution. The Barbarians on the wTest, north, and
east of Macedonia were preparing to renounce their
subjection, and resume their hostility and predatory
habits. In southern Greece Sparta, standing aloof
from the general confederacy, claimed the supremacy
as due to her, and presented a rallying point for the
disaffected. Athens, smarting under her humiliation,
and eager for novelty, was ready to renounce her
forced acquiescence in the terms of the union, and
renew her engagements with Persia. But Alexander
was equal to the crisis. After punishing the mur-
derers of his father, and arranging the internal affairs
of Macedonia, he marched to the south at the head of
a chosen body of troops.

The Thessalians had been for many years the firm

18

Mat. 20.] MARCH INTO GREECE. 19

friends and supporters of the Macedonian kings.
They had restored Amyntas to his throne; and
Philip, in conjunction with the noble family of the
Aleuadae, had rescued them from the domination of
tyrants. The Thessalians, in return, elected him as
the national chief, and under his patronage enjoyed
peace and tranquillity, to which they had long been
strangers. But as in all Grecian states there existed
violent factions, perhaps we ought to give credit to
those historians who write that an attempt was made
to occupy the pass of Tempe, and prevent Alexander
from entering Thessaly. If such were the case, it
proved unavailing and the king reached Larissa with-
out any serious resistance. The General Assembly
of Thessaly was called together, and by an unanimous
vote decreed the same authority and honors to the son
as had been enjoyed by the father. His Thessalian
friends escorted him to Thermopylae, where the
Amphictionic Council had been summoned to meet
him. The assembled deputies recognized him as one
of their number, and as the successor of his father in
the important office, to which the execution of the
decrees of the council belonged.

Hence he hastened to Corinth, where a Pan-Hel-
lenic Council met, in which he was appointed Cap-
tain-General of the Greek confederacy, and empow-
ered to make war on the Persians, their common
enemies. The Lacedaemonians again dissented, and
proudly alleged that it had been always their practice
to lead, and not to follow. The Athenians, whose
conduct could not bear strict investigation, were more

20 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 336.

»

lavish of their honors to Alexander, than they had
been to Philip.

It is impossible to account for his great success in
these delicate negotiations without confessing that all
his proceedings must have been guided by the most
consummate wisdom. But Alexander had made no
change among his father's ministers; the spirit of
Philip still presided in the council-room and the
interpreters of his opinions predominated there.
Antipater and Parmenio are repeatedly mentioned
by the Athenian orators as the two great ministers
of Philip. To the former he trusted in civil, to the
latter in military affairs. Two anecdotes, recorded
by Plutarch, are well adapted to throw light upon
the supposed characters of the two men. Their
truth, in such a case, is of little importance.

Philip at times loved to drink deeply. On one
occasion when he observed his party rather reluctant
to steep their senses in forgetfulness, " Drink," said
he, " drink ; all is safe, for Antipater is awake." In
allusion to the numerous generals whom the jealousy
of the Athenian democracy united in the command
of their armies, and whom its impatience often re-
placed by an equal number, Philip said, " Fortu-
nate Athenians, in possessing so many generals,
while I have never seen one but Parmenio."

Greater credit is due to Alexander in this respect,
as these two great men naturally adhered to Philip
in the misunderstanding that took place between him
and his son ; and the youthful monarch had personal
friends, of distinguished merit, who at his father's

jfetttt. 20.] DIOGENES. 21

death were exiles on his account. These were Har-
palus, Ptolemy the son of Lagus, Nearchus, Erygius,
and his brother Laomedon. They were of course
recalled from exile, but their promotion to high offices
was slow, though certain. Their names will often
recur during the following life.

Diogenes, commonly called by the Greeks 6 xuwv, or
the dog, and from whom the Cynic philosophers were
named, resided then at Corinth. His contempt for
all the decencies and proprieties of civilized life,
joined to great rudeness of manner and readiness in
sharp and pithy replies, had procured him great
notoriety. His usual residence was a tub, placed
under the walls of the Corinthian gymnasium.
From this he declaimed to all willing listeners
against the habits of civilized life, and upon the
great superiority of savage existence. Alexander
was tempted to visit him ; and after questioning
him respecting his doctrines, requested to know
if he could be of any service. " Be so good " (said
the basking philosopher, true to his principles) " as
to stand from between me and the sun." The king
was so much struck with the independent spirit
manifested in this reply that he said to his officers,
" Were I not Alexander, I should wish to be Dio-
genes." The king was young, the philosopher far
advanced in years, yet their death occurred about the
same period. Diogenes was one morning found dead
in his tub, with his face enveloped in his cloak. His
friends and disciples, for he had many, could not
decide whether his death had been caused by a volun-

22 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 336.

tary suppression of breath, or by indigestion. More
probably from the latter cause, as his last meal had
been the raw leg of an ox; at least so says his
biographers and namesake Diogenes Lsertius.
V After having thus successfully arranged the affairs
of Southern Greece, and succeeded in all his projects,
Alexander returned to spend the winter in Macedo-
nia, and to prepare for an early expedition against his
more turbulent northern and western neighbors.
With the spring he marched against the Thracians of
Mount Haemus and its vicinity.

The army set out from Pella, reached Amphipolis,
crossed first the Strymon, then the Nestus, and in ten
marches from the banks of the latter river arrived at
the southern foot of Mount Hsemus the modern Bal-
kan. He found the defiles in possession of the moun-
taineers and other independent Thracian tribes.
They had occupied the summit of a mountain that
completely commanded the pass, and rendered ad-
vance impossible. Alexander carefully examined
the mountain range, but failed to discover any other
practicable defile. He determined therefore to storm
the enemy's position, and thus force his way. The
mountain's brow was crowned with a line of waggons,
intended not only to serve as a rampart, but to be
rolled down precipitously upon the ascending phal-
anx. In order to meet this danger, Alexander or-
dered the soldiers to open their ranks where the
ground would allow it, and permit the waggons to
pass through the intervals ; where that was impossible
to throw themselves on the ground, lock their shields

JEt&t. 20.] MOUNT H^EMUS. 23

together in that position, and allow the waggons to
roll over them. The shields of the Macedonian
phalanx could be interlinked in cases of necessity.
This enabled them to disperse the pressure of the
wheels among many bucklers. And when the first
shock had been withstood the waggons glided lightly
over the brazen pavement and quitted it with a
bound, i

A few were injured by the crush, but not a man
was killed. Encouraged by the success of their new
manoeuvre, they rose, charged up the hill, gained the
summit, and the victory was won ; for the half-armed
barbarians could not withstand the charge of the ser-
ried line of pikes, and fled over the hills in every
direction.

The pass by which Alexander crossed Mount
Hserrms continues to be the main road between the
plains of Hadrianople and the vale of the Danube.
It follows the course of the Adra, one of the tribu-
taries of the TIebrus or Marizza; it then crosses the
main ridge, and descends along the Iatrus, still called
the Iantra, into the vast plain between the northern
foot of Hsemus and the Danube. This plain, at the
period of Alexander's invasion was possessed by the
Triballi, a warlike Thracian tribe, against which
Philip had often warred with varying success. They
had not long been masters of the country, because in
the time of Herodotus it formed the principal seat of
the Geta?, whom the Triballi drove beyond the Dan-
ube. The modern maps of this country, except on
the line of the great roads, are not to be trusted.

24: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

Even Macedonia, until within a century, was, to a
great extent, unexplored, and the site of its ancient
cities was only matter of conjecture. Syrmus, the
Triballian chief, did not wait to be attacked, but
retired with his court and family into a large island
in the Danube. The Greeks named it Peuce, prob-
ably from the number of' its pine-trees. Strabo
places it twelve miles from the sea, and adds that
Darius bridged the Danube either at its lower or
upper end. But his Byzantine epitomist, who was
perfectly acquainted with the coast, describes it as
a triangle, inclosed between the two main branches
of the Danube and the sea. The latter description is
still applicable, and the name of Piczina is easily
identified with Peuce or Peucine.

]Sk>r ought it to be regarded as wonderful that a
river of the size and rapidity of the Danube has
effected so slight a change during twenty centuries.
For although it cannot be denied, mathematically
speaking, that the annual tribute of soil carried by
rivers to the sea must, in the countless lapse of ages,
wear down the mountains and fill the seas, yet, as far
as I have been enabled to form a judgment the actual
changes within, the last two thousand years have been
very trifling.

Within three days' march of the Danube Alexan-
der crossed a stream called by Arrian, Lyginus. The
name is not found in other authors, and was probably
given upon the spot to one of the slow streams that
meander through the plain. In English its name
is equivalent to the willow-river. Alexander was

iEtat. 21.] DEFEAT OF THE TRIBALLI. 25

marching upon Peuce when he received information
that the great body of the Triballi had taken circuit,
passed to his rear, and posted themselves on the banks
of the Lyginus. This movement must have inter-
cepted all communication between him and Macedo-
nia. He immediately turned round, marched his
army back, and found the Triballi drawn up in the
wood that lined the banks of the stream. A sharp
engagement took place, in which the Triballi were not
inferior as long as it continued a contest of missiles,
but when the cavalry supported by the phalanx had
reached their main body, the charge was irresistible,
and they were driven first into the ravine and .then
into the river. Three thousand Triballi were slain ;
the prisoners were few, as the enemy could not be
safely pursued through the thickets that covered the
banks of the Lyginus.

Alexander then resumed his march in the direction
of the island, and in three days arrived at the point
where the Danube divided round it. Here he found
his fleet that had sailed from Byzantium for the pur-
pose of co-operating with the land army. He em-
barked a few troops on board the ships, which were
not numerous, and attempted to make a descent upon
the upper angle of the island. The ships descended
the main stream, but the troops failed to make their
landing good at the point, and if they swerved either
to the right or to the left, the current, always strong
below the point of division, hurried them down. To
these difficulties was added the resistance of the
enemy, who crowded to the banks and fought bravely

26 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 336.

in defence of their last refuge. The attempt, there-
bre, failed, and the ships were withdrawn.
The invader of such a country cannot retreat with
npunity. The first news of a serious repulse fol-
jwed by a movement to the rear, converts every bar-
barian into an eager, resolute, and persevering
assailant. The Getse, the ancient enemies of Philip,
were collecting in crowds on the opposite bank. Alex-
ander finding the island impregnable, determined to
cross the main stream and attack the Getse. He
ordered rafts on inflated skins to be constructed, and
collected the numerous canoes used by the natives
both for fishing and piratical purposes. In these and
on board his own fleet he threw across in the course
of one night, a thousand cavalry and four thousand
infantry.

The troops landed in a plain waving deeply with
standing corn.* The phalanx marched first, and
grasping their long pikes in the middle, levelled the
opposing grain and formed a wide road for the cav-
alry. On reaching the open ground they discovered
the Getic forces. But these, alarmed by the unex-
pected boldness of the movement, and astonished at
Alexander's success in crossing the Danube in one
night and without constructing a bridge, waited not
to be attacked, but fled to their city. There they
hastily placed their wives, families, and more por-
table valuables upon their numerous horses and re-
tired into the desert. Their town was captured, and

* The word refers here to the grass cereals, — wheat, rye,
barley, — not to Indian corn.

^Etat. 21.] GETJE— CELT^E. 27

the booty considerable; for the demand of the
Greek market had thus early converted these Scy-
thians into an agricultural and commercial people.
While the soldiers were employed in conveying the
plunder to the right bank, Alexander offered sacri-
fices on the left to Jupiter the Preserver, to Hercules,
the supposed ancestor of the Scythian nations and to
the river god who had permitted him to cross his
mighty stream in safety. The same day witnessed
the commencement and the termination of the expe-
ditions, for before night had closed upon them all the
troops had regained their former camp.

The Getse at this period were in a depressed state,
otherwise Alexander might have had cause to repent
this act of aggression. As it was, the result was for-
tunate, for all the neighboring tribes sent deputies re-
questing peace and alliance. Even Syrmus, dazzled
by the brilliancy of the exploit, renewed the treaty
which had existed between him and Philip. The
barbarians on both sides of the Danube had been
engaged in long and bloody wars with Philip.
Strabo even hints that in his war with Ateas, King of
the Getse, Philip had penetrated to the vicinity of the
Borysthenes. All, therefore, had been taught by ex-
perience to acknowledge the superiority of the Mace-
donian arms and discipline, and were now unwilling
to renew the contest with their former conquerors,
who, as was proved by the skill and vigor of their
youthful king, had lost no advantage by the death of
his father.

Among other ambassadors came deputies from the

28 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

Celta?, who lived to the north-east of the Adriatic
gulf. These were probably Scordisci, a Celtic tribe
of great power and name, who had seized the country
immediately to the west of the Thracian Triballi.
Alexander, whose whole heart was fixed upon the Per-
sian expedition, spared no means likely to conciliate
his turbulent visitors. The deputies were feasted
with all the magnificence which camp accommoda-
tions would allow. The wine circulated freely, and
in the moment of exhilaration, Alexander asked whom
or what they most dreaded ? Perhaps the king ex-
pected a passing compliment to Macedonian valor and
his own rising reputation. But the Celts were not
inclined to gratify his vanity at the expense of their
own self-importance, and proudly answered, " our
onlv fear is lest the sky should fall on us." From
some acquaintance with Celtic dialects and their figu-
rative mode of expression, I venture to interpret the
above answer as equivalent to the English expression,
" we fear no enemies but the gods." A bold answer
never displeased Alexander: he declared the Celta?
his friends, and formed an alliance wTith them. He
added, however, that the Celts wrere great boasters;
a character which, from the Scordisci down to the
Gascons and the modern Celts of Ireland, they mo3t
undoubtedlv have deserved.

As Alexander was marching back from the Danube,
intelligence met him that two Illvrian chiefs, Cleitus
the son of Bardylis, and Glaucias, Prince of the Tau-
lantii, were in arms and preparing to assert their
independence. He had now reached Pseonia, situ-

iEtat. 21.] P^fEONIANS— LANGARUS. 29

ated between the rivers ISTestus and Strymon. It had
formerly been independent, but Philip had annexed
it to Macedonia. We are informed by Hippocrates,
that the Pseonians were once a more civilized race
than the Macedonians. Asteropseus, their chief in
the Trojan war, is described by Homer as possessing
singular dexterity in the use of arms. He engaged
Achilles in single combat, and is the only warrior to
whom Homer ascribes the honor of wounding that
redoubtable hero. According to their own account,
recorded by Herodotus, they were a Teucrian colony.
The interesting description given of them in his
Fifth Book, represents them as a fine race of people,
distinguished for their ingenuity and industrious
habits. It is to the age of their supremacy that
Thracian civilization and Linus, Orpheus, and Mu-
saBus should be referred. The nation was divided
into several tribes or clans, of whom the Agrians, oc-
cupying the upper vale of the Strymon and the vicin-
ity of Mount Panga3us, were at this period the most
predominant.

Langarus, the Agrian chief, had been the youthful
companion of Alexander, and their intimacy had
ripened into friendship. He now came to receive the
commands of his sovereign, and to communicate all
the information which he had gathered respecting the
enemies' motions. Cleitus and Glaucias had sum-
moned other Illyrian tribes to their assistance, and
among them had engaged the Autariatas to invade
Macedonia from the north, while they entered it from
the west. It is a curious instance of the migratory

30 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

habits of these tribes, that Alexander had to ask Lan-
garus who these Autariatse were who threatened to
attack his flank. The Agrian replied that they were
the weakest and most insignificant of the Illyrian na-
tions, and that he would engage to invade their terri-
tories, and find ample work for them in their own
country. But in Strabo's time the Autariatse were
the most powerful tribe in Illyricum, and occupied
the whole country between the Agrian borders and
the Danube. Alexander proposed to cement the
friendship existing between him and the Pseonian
chief by giving him his sister Cyna in marriage. But
the premature death of Langarus at the close of the
campaign, prevented the accomplishment of his
wishes. The fact, however, is important, as it
proves that Cyna was already a widow, and that con-
sequently, Amyntas the son of Perdiccas, had been
put to death immediately after the assassination of
Philip.

The operations of Langarus enabled Alexander to
direct all his efforts against the western Illyrians.
Cleitus, his present opponent, was the son of the
famous bandit Bardylis, who, through the various
trades of charcoal-burner, robber, warrior, and con-
queror, had become a powerful prince. He fell in a
great battle when ninety years old, after witnessing
the total defeat of his troops by Philip. This suc-
cess enabled the latter to make the lake, Lychnidus or
Ochrida, the boundary between him and his restless
neighbors. Alexander marched up the river Erigon,
entered Illyricum, and found Cleitus posted advan-

JStet 21.] CAMPAIGN IN ILLYRIA. 31

tageously on the hills above the city of Pellium.
Alexander encamped on the banks of the river, and
prepared to attack the town. The Illyrian troops,
anxious to save their city, partially descended from
their commanding position, and drew the king's
attack upon themselves. He routed them, and
gained the post occupied shortly before by Cleitus
and his chiefs. A shocking spectacle here awaited
the victor's eyes. Three young maidens, three
youths, and three black rams, had been immolated to
the god of war. Their gloomy superstition taught
them to believe that the united blood of the thrice
three victims would form a potent charm of victory,
or at least secure the lives of the leading chiefs.

The majority of the enemy had taken refuge in
Pellium, round which Alexander was preparing to
draw lines of circumvallation, when the arrival of
Glaucias, chief of the Taulantii, at the head of a
numerous army, compelled him to desist. The Mace-
donians were thus placed in a critical situation, as the
enemy were far superior in cavalry and light troops,
and the narrow and rugged ravine in which they were
engaged did not allow the phalanx to act with effect.
Their foraging parties were intercepted, and as pro-
visions could not be procured, a retreat became neces-
sary. The Illyrians had already occupied the hills
in the rear, and regarded their success as certain. It
was not without great difficulty that Alexander extri-
cated his troops from their dangerous situation. He
formed his phalanx into a deep column where the
pass required it, he gradually extended it into line

32 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

where the valley became wider. He protected the
flanks as well as he could by his light troops, and or-
dered the phalanx when threatened with a serious
attack froni either side, to bring their spears later-
ally to the charge, instead of projecting them to the
front. By retiring cautiously in this manner, he
gained the brow of the hill, whence, if he could in
safety cross the river that flowed at its foot, his army
would be comparatively secure.

The descent was considerable, and the enemy on
both flanks and in the rear were ready to fall on the
troops while descending and in the act of fording the
river. To obviate the danger, Alexander himself,
with the engines attached to the army, first crossed
and disposed them in the most commanding positions
on the opposite bank. The phalanx was then ordered
to descend from the hill and ford the river with the
greatest rapidity, consistent with the preservation of
order. The enemy pursued, but the discharge of
missiles from the engines checked their advance, and
enabled the Macedonians to pass over in safety.

Here Alexander halted for two nights, and re-
freshed his troops after their fatigues. The Illy-
rians, with the usual confidence of barbarians, did not
pursue their advantage, but gave themselves up to
exultation and festivities. Their whole armv en-
camped loosely on the heights, no regular watches
were established, no ramparts thrown up, nor fears en-
tertained that the fugitives might become assailants.
Alexander observed their negligence, and, as the dan-

iEtat. 21.] VICTORY OF ALEXANDER. 33

gers of his position would not allow him to be mag-
nanimous, determined to steal a victory.

In the silence of the third night, he formed his
troops into columns, re-passed the river, surprised the
Illyrians in their tents, routed them in all directions,
slew the greater part, and pursued the remainder to
the borders of the Taulantii. Those who did escape
threw away their arms, and thus incapacitated them-
selves for future operations. The blow was so severe
that the Illyrians gave no further molestation to
Macedonia during Alexander's reign. Cleitus took
refuge first in Pellium, but set it on fire in despair,
and retired into the territories of his ally.

This victory was very seasonable, as important tid-
ings from the south rendered Alexander's presence
in that quarter indispensable. Philip, after the bat-
tle of Chseroneia, had banished the leaders of the
democracy, and placed a garrison in the Cadmeia, the
citadel of Thebes. The exiles availing themselves of
Alexander's absence, returned suddenly, entered
Thebes by night, surprised Amyntas and Timolaus
the Macedonian governors, and put them to death.
These officers suspecting no danger had quitted the
Cadmeia and resided in the city. With the dawn the
exiles, supported by their accomplices, summoned the
Thebans to an assembly. Under the specious names
of liberty, independence, and deliverance from the
Macedonian yoke, they exhorted them to revolt.
They scrupled not to assert that the king had fallen in
the Illyrian campaign ; and their assertions received

the more credit, because the partial success of the
3

34: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

enemy had intercepted all communications between
Alexander and Greece.

In an evil hour the assembly listened to the agita-
tors, and Thebes revolted. The Macedonian garri-
son was still in the Cadmeia. It was, therefore, en-
circled with a double line of circumvallation, for the
sake both of repressing its sallies and starving it into
submission. The work had scarcely been completed,
when Antipater at the head of the troops of the con-
federacy arrived in the neighborhood.

In the meantime the revolt of Thebes threw all
Greece into a state of excitement. Demosthenes,
according to his own confession, had been mainly in-
strumental in encouraging the exiles to make the
attempt.* He now exerted all his eloquence to in-
duce the Athenians to follow their example. Even
when the assembly had prudently decreed to wait for

* Demosthenes was one of the most successful political
agitators in history. He was "a politician with a consistent
program, but a thoroughly practical politician, to whom it
seemed well to do evil that good might come." His one
motive, a truly patriotic one from his standpoint, was hatred
of the Macedonians. To accomplish his end, he accepted from
Persia a corruption fund amounting to $350,000. He traveled
from place to place, wherever there was Macedonian
sympathy, to check the growing sentiment by the power of
his eloquence. He scrupled at nothing that would further
his aims and help his party. Alexander later referred to
Demosthenes when he upbraided Darius: — "Your agents
corrupted my friends [by your bribes] and were striving to
dissolve the league which I had formed among the Greeks."
It was the influence of Demosthenes that occasioned the dis-
astrous revolt of Thebes.

^Etat. 21.] MARCH INTO BCETIA. 35

further information respecting the reported death of
Alexander, the orator ceased not to intrigue with the
neighboring states and to aid the Thebans from his
own private resources. The Lacedaemonians not in-
cluded in the confederacy, were known to be anxious
for the formation of a powerful anti-Macedonian
league. The court of Persia had already placed large
sums of money at the disposal of its Grecian agents,
and active exertions would ensure an ample supply
of the sinews of war from the treasures of the Great
King. Still, if we can believe iEschines, the Persian
agents behaved most culpably on the occasion, as the
garrison of the Cadmeia, composed of mercenaries,
offered to deliver the citadel to the Thebans for the
paltry sum of five talents, which nevertheless, Demos-
thenes refused to advance.

Alexander saw that the long-continued labors of his
father and his own fair prospects of a glorious career
were likely to prove vain, and that another desperate
struggle against Persian gold and Grecian valor
awaited the Macedonian arms. His deep conviction
of the importance of the crisis may be inferred from
the rapidity of his movements. In seven days he
passed from the scene of warfare along a rugged and
mountainous road to Pellene or Pellinseum on the
banks of the Peneius. In six more days he reached
the gates of Thermopylae, and soon after encamped
at Onchestus, a small town crowning the summit of a
hill between Thebes and the lake Copias. The de-
luded Thebans could not believe that the King him-
self had thus suddenly arrived from the mountains of

36 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

Illyricum. It was only a body of troops sent from
Macedonia to reinforce Antipater ! Even when the
truth could no longer be concealed, and Alexander
was known to be their commander, the ringleaders
boldly affirmed, that it could not be Alexander the
King, but the son of Aeropus the Lyncestian.

Their doubts were not destined to continue long;
for the king, the next day after joining Antipater,
approached the city, and encamped near the conse-
crated grove of Iolaus, the friend and companion of
Hercules. He hoped the Thebans would repent, and
acknowledge their error. But so far from doing this,
they sallied forth in considerable numbers, and slew a
few Macedonians. Alexander contented himself
with repulsing the attack. ISText day he marched
round the city, and encamped on the road leading to
Athens. In this position he intercepted all communi-
cation with their well-wishers in the south, and
was near his own troops in the Cadmeia, from
the foot of which nothing separated him but the
cumvallation constructed by the Thebans. His
wishes and interest were to recover Thebes by gentle
means. On this day the assembly met within the
city, and the Macedonian party proposed to send a
deputation in order to see what grace they could ob-
tain from the king. But the ringleaders, who, with-
out a doubt, must have suffered the same fate which
they had inflicted on Amyntas and Timolaus, per-
suaded the majority of the citizens that their cause
was common, and that there was no safety except in
arms.

Mta.t. 21.] ASSAULT ON THEBES. 37

It should also be remembered, that Grecian cities
had not in previous wars been liable to immediate
capture by force of arms. Starvation or treachery
were the only means of gaining possession of fortified
towns. All the forces of the Peloponnesians and
their allies had failed to capture the small city of
Platsea by open force. They had rolled down the
forests of Mount Cithgeron, piled them in huge heaps,
and set them on fire, in hopes of burning out the brave
little garrison ; but all their efforts failed, and it re-
quired a blockade of three years before they could gain
possession of the place. The interval between the
siege of Tyre by Alexander and the surrender of
Plata3a does not amount to a century, while a thou-
sand years, in the gradual progress of human inven-
tion, are scarcely sufficient to account for the differ-
ence between the science and enterprise of the two
besieging parties. Even the Athenians, supposed to
be more advanced in the art called wall-fighting by
the Spartans, were ruined, because they could not
destroy the paltry fort of Deceleia, within half a
day's march of the Parthenon. Nor were the Mace-
donians distinguished for their greater success in this
species of warfare, as Perinthus and Byzantium long
withstood the utmost efforts of Philip. The The-
bans, therefore, had no cause to expect the terrible
fate that so suddenly overtook them.

According to Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, the fatal
assault was commenced more from accident than
design. Percliccas being placed with his brigade of
the phalanx near the circumvallation, perceived as he

38 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

thought a favorable opportunity, and, without wait-
ing for orders, made a furious attack on the outer
line, tore down the defences, and broke into the in-
closed space. Amyntas, the son of Andromenes, fol-
lowed his example, and the king seeing his troops thus
far engaged, ordered the light-armed to enter the
breach, while he brought his guards and the flower of
the phalanx to the entrance. Perdiccas, in the mean-
time, had broken through the inner line of the cir-
cumvallation, and reached the open space between it
and the citadel. But in the attack he received a
severe wound, was carried out fainting, and narrowly
escaped with life.

Within the last-described space stood a temple of
Hercules, with a hollow road leading to it. The bri-
gade of the wounded general, supported by the light
troops, drove the Thebans before them as far as this
temple. Here the latter rallied, raised the Theban
war-cry, charged the pursuers, slew Eurybates the
commander of the Cretan archers, and drove the as-
sailants back into the breach. Alexander allowed his
broken troops to disengage themselves, and then, with
his men in close order, attacked their pursuers, car-
ried all before him, passed the temple of Hercules,
and reached the city gates together with the retreat-
ing Thebans. The crush was so great, that the Mace-
donians made their ground good on the inside before
the gates could be closed. Others entered the Cad-
meia, and being joined by the garrison, descended
into the city by the temple of Amphion. This
appears to have been situated at the end of the street

jEtat. 21.J CAPTURE OF THEBES. 39

leading from the citadel to the town. It was occu-
pied by Thebans, who defended the post for some
time. But when the division with Alexander, and
others who had scaled the walls in various parts, had
reached the market-place, the Thebans gave up the
contest in despair. The cavalry galloped through
the opposite gates, and reached Athens in safety.
The infantry dispersed and saved themselves as they
could. But it is not probable that many of them
escaped. In the army of the confederates there were
Phocians, Platseans, Thespians, and Orchomenians
— men whose injuries had been great, and whose ven-
geance was dreadful. No mercy was shown to age or
infancy ; the distinctions of sex were disregarded.
The virgin at the foot of the altar met with the same
fate as the warrior who refused quarter, and struck
at the enemy while life remained. The Macedo-
nians at last succeeded in staying the butchery, and
saving the surviving inhabitants.

The ultimate fate of Thebes was then submitted to
the decision of the Assembly of the Confederates.
According to the terms of their decree, the Cadmeia
was occupied by a garrison ; the city was levelled
with the Aground ; the territory, with the exception of
lands consecrated to religious purposes, was confis-
cated, and the captured Thebans, with their wives
and families, were condemned to be sold by public auc-
tion. All priests and priestesses, all the friends of
Philip and Alexander, all families publicly connected
with the Macedonians, were exempted from the con-
sequences of this decree. The exceptions are com-

40 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

prehensive enough to embrace every f amily; a single
member of which had made the slightest opposition to
the late revolt. Alexander personally interfered in
behalf of the descendants of the great lyric poet of
Thebes : these remained uninjured, both in person
and fortune. The very house which he had hallowed
by his residence was left standing among the ruins.
The greatest of modern poets has amply repaid the
honors conferred on his brother bard :

" Lift not thy spear against the muse's bower,
The great Emathian conqueror bad spare
The house of Pindarus when temple and tower
Went to the ground." *

We involuntarily invest a nation with a species of
existence independent of the ever-shifting individuals
that compose it. This abstraction is in ordinary
thought and language imagined to exist for centuries,
deserving gratitude in age for the good deeds of
youth, and obnoxious in decrepitude and feebleness
for the crimes of its earlier existence. Thus the accu-
mulated guilt of centuries becomes concentrated in
one unhappy generation ; and the penalties due to the
numerous offences of their forefathers, are exacted
with interest from the individuals then happening to
exist.

* The Macedonian vengeance on Thebes was terrific. Six
thousand were killed in the capture of the city, and all the
rest were sold into slavery, the only exceptions being the
priests and priestesses, the family of Pindar, and those visitors
who were friendly to Alexander. The city was entirely
destroyed, only the house of Pindar remaining uninjured in
the midst of the ruins.

JBtat. 21.] TERROR AT ATHENS. 41

This is an instinctive feeling, never to be eradi-
cated by philosophical reasoning, and has been im-
planted for wise purposes in the human breast. For
a community, abstraction as it is, possesses public
feelings, a sense of right, and a respect for justice and
mercy, that can never be violated without the most
destructive reaction upon itself. And a nation that
has lost its character, loses self-respect, and becomes
as reckless in its future conduct as the malefactor
whom public justice has degraded from his place in
society.

The suddenness of the blow, and the severity with
which it was followed up, struck terror into the bold-
est leaders of the Anti-Macedonian party. The
Arcadians were already on the road to Thebes when
its fate was announced. It is difficult to account for
the real cause of their conduct ; some impute it to
the gift of ten talents which Antipater, previous to
Alexander's arrival, had sent to them ; others impute
it to the terror caused by the fall of Thebes. The
result is not disputed ; the troops, as in many other
similar cases, brought their leaders to trial, and put
them to death.

The Athenians being more deeply implicated in
the intrigue, felt proportional alarm. The presence
of the Theban fugitives announced the ruin of Thebes
to the citizens, then engaged in celebrating the
Eleusinian mysteries. The holy rites were inter-
mitted ; Eleusis, its temple, and goddesses forsaken,
and all the inhabitants, with their more valuable
efforts, took refuge within the walls of Athens. Nor

42 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

was the alarm causeless, for the Thessalians of the
confederacy had already decreed to march into Attica,
■ and Alexander himself was known to be exasperated
against the Athenian leaders.

Demosthenes, a great statesman and matchless ora-
tor, was not a good man. His failings, perhaps his
vices, were notorious. But his devotion to the
cause of Athenian supremacy was boundless. His
zeal, his activity, and, at times, his success in that
cause, had distinguished him as the champion of the
Greeks against the encroachments of Philip. When
the battle of Chseroneia had raised the Macedonians to
the supremacy, successively possessed by Lacedaemo-
nians, Athenians, and Thebans, Philip had laid aside
all animosity, and permitted Athens to enjoy an un-
qualified independence. But in the mind of Demos-
thenes the defeat of his measures deeply rankled, and
he welcomed the tidings of Philip's murder with un-
manly exultation. He advised the Athenians to
offer the same sacrifices on the occasion as were cus-
tomary when intelligence of a victory arrived. He
went further, he proposed to deify the assassin, and
erect a temple to his memory. He had loaded the
youthful king with the most opprobrious epithets,
and pronounced him a new Margeitis. The name was
well known in Greece ; for Margeitis was the hero of
a mock heroic poem, attributed to Homer : the inter-
est of which depended on the ludicrous situations in
which the vanity, folly, and cowardice of the hero
were perpetually involving him. Demosthenes and
his party had, therefore, much to fear, and little to

Mint. 21.] DEMOSTHENES— CHARIDEMUS. 43

hope from Alexander. Short time, however, was left
for deliberation when the assembly met and decreed
that ten citizens should wait on the young king, and
congratulate him on his safe return from Thrace and
Illyricum, and on the suppression of the Theban
revolt. Demosthenes was appointed one of this depu-
tation, but his heart failed him, and he returned from
the centre of Mount Cithseron. This fact, mentioned
by iEschines, proves the truth of Plutarch's assertion,
that the first deputation consisted of the Anti-Mace-
donian party, and that Alexander refused to admit
them to an audience.

The assembly, therefore, met a second time, and
Demades, Phocion, iEschines, with several others,
known friends to the Macedonian interests, were
deputed to the king. These were received with affa-
bility and kindness, and were, perhaps, the advisers
of the letter which they brought from Alexander.
In this he required the Athenians to surrender eight
orators, of whom the principal were Demosthenes and
ITypereides, and two oratorical generals, Chares and
Charidemus. He proposed to bring them to trial be-
fore the deputies of the Grecian confederacy. He
accused them of being the common disturbers of
Grecian tranquillity, of having caused the Chaero-
neian war, and its calamities, of being the authors
of the gross insults offered to his father's memory, and
to himself. He added that he knew them to be as
guilty of the Theban revolt as the actual agents. De-
mosthenes had no courtesy to expect from the Mace-
donian ; and, even if the natural magnanimity of the

44 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

king should induce him to overlook the insults offered
to himself, yet filial piety might compel him to take
vengeance for the indecent outrages offered to his
father's memory. The orator, therefore, exerted all
his eloquence to dissuade the assembly from comply-
ing with the king's demand. He described himself
and fellow demagogues as the watchful dogs, Alexan-
der as the wolf, and the Athenians as the simple sheep
of the fable. His eloquence prevailed, and a third
deputation was sent, beseeching the king to remit his
anger against the accused, for the sake of his Athe-
nian friends. Alexander after the destruction of
Thebes, could afford to be merciful, and withdrew
his demand. Charidemus alone was excepted, and
compelled to retire from Greece.* It is impossible
to account for the king's inflexibility in his case, with-
out inferring that he had discovered proofs of his con-
nection with his father's assassins. The banished
general withdrew to the Persian court.

Alexander returned to Macedonia after a cam-
paign hitherto unrivalled in Grecian history, and
which alone was sufficient to prove that no equal mili-
tary genius had yet appeared among men. The inva-
sion of Thrace, the passage of Mount Hsemus, the
defeat of the Triballi, the passage of the Danube, the
victory over the Gets?, the march into Illyricum, the
defeat first of Cleitus, then of the united troops of
Cleitus and Glaucias, the rapid descent into Boeotia,
the more rapid conquest of Thebes, and the settlement

* It was Charidemus who sent to Demosthenes the news of
the assassination of Philip, news accepted by the recipient as
good tidings,

Mtat. 21.] PIERIA-ORPHEUS. 45

of all the excited nations of Southern Greece, were all
crowded into one spring, summer and autumn. The
winter was spent at ^Eg£e, the primitive capital of
Macedonia. There, with due pomp and magnifi-
cence, he offered sacrifices to the Olympian Jove, and
diversified the festivities of the court with gymnastic
contests and theatrical representations.

Not far from the city of Dium, and at the eastern
foot of Mount Olympus, a monument and statue had
been erected in memory of the Thracian Orpheus.
The country was the ancient Pieria, and the natives
referred to their own Pimpleian spring as the origi-
nal and favorite resort of the muses. They observed
with awe that the statue of the father of song con-
tinued for many days during this winter to be be-
dewed with apparent perspiration.

The prodigy was duly reported, the diviners con-
sulted, and an answer received from the most saga-
cious of their number, pronouncing the omen pro-
pitious, and auguring brilliant success to Alexander,
and proportionate labors to the poets. The inter-
pretation perhaps would have been more germane
had the cold sweat of the tuneful bard been attributed
to an overwhelming anticipation of the frigid con-
ceits of Choerilus, and the other poetasters of Alex-
ander's court.

The omen and its explanation were, however,
hailed with delight, and sacrifices, with due honors,
offered to the muses. But they are capricious in
their favors, and never smiled on the efforts of the
versifiers of Alexander's great actions.

CHAPTER IV.

STATE OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD, AXD OF THE RE-
SOURCES OF THE TWO CONTENDING PARTIES AT
THE PERIOD OF ALEXANDER^ INVASION OF ASIA.

To speculate on the condition of the rest of the
known world at this period would be worse than idle,
for we know nothing of it. I shall, therefore, confine
myself to the consideration of the state of the three
great powers which then predominated on the shores
of the Mediterranean. These were the Persian,
Carthaginian, and Grecian nations.

The Persian dynasty, after a continued series of
able and magnificent monarchs, had been threatened
with destruction during the long and feeble reign of
Artaxerxes Mnemon. In the north the Caducians
had renounced their allegiance, and baffled the king's
personal attempt to reduce them to subjection. In
the south, Egypt had recovered and asserted in arms
her ancient independence. In the west, the great
satraps of Asia Minor had openly revolted, and with-
held the usual tribute from their great sovereign.
Artaxerxes Ochus, who succeeded to his father's
throne, had been signally defeated in his attempt
to recover Egypt, and his misfortunes led to the
immediate revolt of Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the other

46

Mtsit. 21.] PERSIA— CARTHAGE. 47

maritime powers. But the empire had been saved
from impending dissolution, by the vigor of the
eunuch Bagoas, the chief minister of Ochus, and by
the military talents of his associate, Mentor, a Rho-
dian soldier of fortune. Phoenicia and Egypt had
been reconquered, and the western provinces re-
united to the empire. These were placed under the
unlimited control of Mentor, while Bagoas super-
intended the internal government. During the short
reign of Arses, the successor of Ochus, these ministers,
freed from domestic troubles, had been enabled to
direct their attention to Greece. And we have the
testimony of Demosthenes, that Philip's operations
against Perinthus and Byzantium had been baffled
by the mercenary troops of Persia. The lineal de-
scendants of Darius Nothus ended with Arses, and
Codomannus, said to have been the surviving repre-
sentative of Achaemenes by a collateral branch, was
raised to the throne by Bagoas, and assumed the name
of Darius. The whole empire acknowledged his
authority, and the personal courage which he had
displayed in early youth, induced his subjects to
expect a vigorous administration from his mature
years. His resources were ample ; his treasures full,
and, if he distrusted the valor of his own people, he
could command the services of the most valiant and
skilful warviors then existing. But the death of
Philip had freed the Persian court from immediate
terror, and little danger was anticipated from the
efforts of the boy Alexander.

The Carthaginian empire had been gradually rising

48 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 335.

in importance ; Northern Africa and Southern Spain
might be regarded as component parts of it. The
western islands in the Mediterranean had been sub-
dued, and the Carthaginians were pressing hard on
the Sicilian Greeks. But they were not likely to in-
terfere in the present contest, except as the allies of
their mother city Tyre.

The Greeks in Italy were rapidly losing their
military superiority, and the Lucanians and Sam-
nites, exercised in continual wars with Home, as yet
unknown in the history of the world, were threaten-
ing the degenerate colonists with subjugation. The
Greeks in Asia and Asiatic islands had long been
familiarized with Persian despotism, and nothing
but decided success on the part of their liberators was
likely to make them active partizans of a cause to
which they had so often proved victims. Within
Greece itself there existed a warlike population, ill
adapted, from want of concert and pecuniary re-
sources, for a combined and continued exertion; yet
fully able to resist all foreign aggression, or active
interference with their liberties. Justin calculates,
and apparently without exaggeration, that the states
to the south of Macedonia could, at this period, bring
two hundred thousand men to the field.

The Macedonian supremacy depended upon opi-
nion and the good will of the majority of the con-
federates. Without this it was a mere name. Gently
and generously as it was used, the Spartans under
Agis nearly succeeded in overthrowing it, even while
Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire appeared

JEtat. 21.] RESOURCES. 49

almost certain. And the Athenians, after his death,
fairly drove Antipater from the field, and blockaded
him within the walls of Lamia. The seasonable
arrival of the great general Craterns, with the
Macedonian veterans, gave the victory at the end of
the second campaign to Antipater; yet both these
generals failed to snbdue the more warlike and
resolute ^Etolians. Without taking these facts into
consideration it is impossible fairly to estimate the
difficulties encountered and surmounted by Alex-
ander.

The Macedonian had no resources for the main-
tenance of the future war except in his own great
mind. The orators of Southern Greece were loud in
their assertions, that Philip owed all his success to
his unsparing profusion of money. With this he
burst asunder the gates of hostile cities ; with this he
purchased the services of party leaders. If it were
so, their virtue must have been cheaply estimated,
for Philip could not have purchased it at a dear rate.
He was poor at the commencement of his reign, and
poorer at his death. Alexander at his accession
found sixty talents* in his treasury, and a few gold

* The word talent referred to weight, not to a specific coin.
It originated in Babylon, but spread through Assyria, Pheni-
cia, Greece, and other countries, differing considerably in
value. The Attic talent averaged about the value of $1,200,
while the Assyrian talent is estimated at from $1,550 to $2,000,
the average being about $1,700. If the talent be estimated at
the value of $1,700 in the narratives of Alexander, the reader
will not go far astray.

The purchasing power of money is as important as th«
4

50 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

and silver cups in the palace. But the debts
amounted to five hundred talents and before he could
move from Macedonia he had to mortgage the royal
domains for eight hundred more.

Nearly two hundred years had elapsed since the
commencement of the wars between Greece and
Persia ; it would, therefore, be folly to say that they
were ignorant of each other's mode of warfare, or
that one party enjoyed any advantage over the other
with respect to arms and discipline. The Persians
could command the services of the best tacticians,
armorers, engineers, and soldiers of Greece ; and it is
a curious fact that Alexander had to combat full fifty
thousand Greeks, before he entered Svria.

The infantry of the invading army, according to
the best authorities, consisted of twelve thousand
Macedonians, seven thousand confederates, five
thousand mercenary Greeks, the same number of
Thracians, Triballians, and Illyrians, and one thou-
sand Agrians. The cavalry amounted to fifteen
hundred Macedonians, fifteen hundred Thessalians,
nine hundred Thracians and Preonians, and six
hundred confederates. The whole force, therefore,
was thirty thousand infantry, and four thousand
five hundred cavalry.

fineness of the gold. Gold was relatively cheaper as com-
pared with silver in ancient times than to-day, the ratio
between the two being about 13 1-3 to 1. The day's wages of
the laborer was a mere pittance as compared with that of
modern times ; but it must on the other hand be remembered
that in a primitive state of society and in a semi-tropical
climate, the wants of the laborer were relatively few and
simple.

*&*

SiFjh

CHAPTER V.

FIRST CAMPAIGN IN ASIA.

In- the spring of the year B. C. 334, Alexander
placed himself at the head of his assembled forces,
and marched to Amphipolis. Passing by the cities
Abdera and Maroneia, he crossed, first, the Hebrus,
and then the Melas. On arriving at Sestus he found
his fleet, consisting of one hundred and sixty triremes,
already assembled. Parmenio was ordered to super-
intend the passage of the troops, while Alexander
indulged his youthful feelings of enthusiasm and
poetry in performing pilgrimages to the shrines con-
secrated by the genius of Homer. At the southern
point of the Thracian Chersonese was the tomb of
Protesilaus.* There Alexander sacrificed to the
manes of the hero who had first set his foot on the
hostile shore of Asia, and besought his influence to
save him whose intentions were the same from a
similar fate. He then embarked, and steered for the
Achaean harbor. On gaining the middle of the

* Protesilaus, a leader of Thessalian forces against Troy,
was the first to leap from the vessel upon Trojan soil, and the
first to suffer death, being slain, according to tradition, by
Hector.

51

52 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

Hellespont, a bull, the Homeric sacrifice to Neptune,
was offered to the Deities of the sea, and due libations
made from golden cups. With his own hand he
steered the vessel, and when it neared the shore, was
the first to spring on Asiatic ground. He was in
complete armor, and brandished his spear, but there
was no Hector to encounter the new Protesilaus, nor
a Laodameia * to lament him had he fallen. The in-
habitants of the Troas were peaceful ^Eolians, more
inclined to remain neutral spectators of the contest,
than to side actively with either party.

If Achilles had his Patroclus, Alexander had his
Hephsestion, a young nobleman of Pella ; an early
partiality for whom had ripened into a steady friend-
ship, equally honorable to both parties. The tumuli
of the two Homeric friends were still conspicuous;
while, therefore, Alexander duly honored the monu-
mental pillar of Achilles, Hephsestion offered gar-
lands and sacrifices at that of Patroclus.

Thence Alexander ascended to the sacred and
storm-exposed city of Priam, worshipped in the
temple of the Ilian Minerva, and hung his own arms
as a votive offering on the walls. In exchange he
took down a suit of armor said to have been worn by
one of the Homeric heroes. The shield, of great size
and strength, might have graced the left arm of the
Telamonian Ajax, and in all his after fields was
borne before Alexander by one of his armor-bearers.

* The affection of Laodameia for her husband Protesilaus is
famous. Woodsworth has a beautiful poem upon the legend
of Laodameia.

Mtzt. 22.] PERSIAN LEADERS. 53

The venerable Priam was not forgotten and the
descendant of Pyrrhus sought by sacrifices to avert
the anger of the royal shade. Would that he had
also honored the tomb of the amiable and patriotic
Hector! But the representative of Achilles had no
sympathy to spare for the slayer of Patroclus.

He turned with scorn from the lyre of Paris,
accustomed to guide the voices of feeble women, but
eagerly demanded a sight of the harp with which
Achilles had soothed his soul and sung the glorious
deeds of heroes.

The Troad is almost a peninsula, placed between
the Gulf of Adramyttium, on the south, and the Gulf
of Cyzicus, on the north. In the intermediate space
rises Mount Ida, stretching westward to Cape Lectus
or Baba, and eastward as far as the vale of the Rhyn-
dacus. The common road, leading from the Troad
to the south-eastern provinces, crossed the western
extremity of Mount Ida, and passed through Antan-
drus and Adramyttium. But Alexander was not
allowed to choose his road.

The Persian satraps had been evidently taken by
surprise by the rapid movements of the invader.
They had thus, without making a single attempt to
molest the passage, allowed him with a far inferior
fleet to convey his troops into Asia. Receiving in-
telligence that they were rapidly collecting their
forces at Zeleia, on the Propontis, he determined to
march in that direction.

The army under the command of Parmenio had
advanced from Abydos to Arisba, where the king

54 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

joined it. Next day he advanced to Percote, and the
day after, leaving Lampsacus on the left, encamped
on the banks of the Practius. This river, flowing
down from Mount Ida, enters the northern part of the
Hellespont. It bears no name on modern maps, but
Percote and Lampsacus still exist as Bergase and
Lamsaki, Colonas and Hermotus, the next stations,
are both obscure. The first was inland from Lamp-
sacus, and was, perhaps, connected with the tomb of
Memnon, mentioned by Strabo.

During this advance the Persian camp became the
scene of much discussion. The death or removal of
Mentor had left the satraps without a commander-in-
chief. His brother Memnon was present, but merely
as an auxiliary, not entrusted with the command
even of the Greek mercenaries. Spithridates, the
satrap of Lydia and Ionia, was the highest officer,
but does not appear to have possessed more authority
than Arsites, the governor of the Hellespontian
Phrygia, the scene of action. Pour other Persians,
Arsames, Bheomithres, Petenes, and Niphates, are
mentioned by Arrian as equal in authority to Spith-
ridates and Arsites. A council of war was held, to
which Memnon was admitted. His advice was to
burn and lay waste the country, to avoid a battle,
and in the words of a modern Persian, " to encircle
the enemy with a desert." But Arsites declared that
he would not permit a single habitation entrusted to
his care to be wilfullv destroved. As Alexander's
advance left no alternative between risking a battle
and leaving Ionia and Lydia open to an invader, the

^Etat. 22.] PARMENIO'S ADVICE. 55

spirited resolution of Arsites was more in accordance
with the feelings of the satraps than the cautious
advice of Memnon. They, therefore, determined to
advance and contest the passage of the Granicus.
Strabo writes that the Granicus, the iEsipus, and the
Scamander rise from the same part of Mount Ida, and
that a circle of twenty stadia would enclose the three
sources. The Granicus must, therefore, from the
length of its course, be a considerable river, and in
spring, when increased by the melting snows of Mount
Ida, present a formidable appearance. Behind this
natural barrier the Persians drew up their forces.

On advancing from Hermotus, Alexander had
received the submission of the city of Priapus, thus
named from the worship of the Hellespontian god.
The army was preceded by strong reconnoitering
parties, composed of the Prodromi, employed to exam-
ine the roads and report obstacles. The main body
was not far from the Granicus, when the scouts re-
turned and announced the position of the enemy on
the opposite bank. Alexander began immediately
to form his line and prepare for battle, when Par-
menio, whose great reputation in war gave him
weight and influence, attempted to check the eagerness
of his youthful sovereign by the following observa-
tions :

" It appears advisable to encamp for the present
on the river's side as we are. For the enemy, far
inferior in infantry, will not in my opinion dare to
spend the night in our vicinity ; so that we may cross
with ease in the morning, before their troops can be

56 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

formed and brought to oppose us. But the attempt
at present appears dangerous, because we cannot lead
our army in line through the river, as many parts of
it are evidently deep, and the banks are, as you see,
very high, and in some places precipitous. When,
therefore, our men reach the opposite bank in dis-
order and in separate columns, they will be exposed
to the attacks of the enemy's cavalry drawn up in
line. Should this our first attempt prove a failure,
the immediate consequences must prove disastrous,
and the final issue of the contest be seriously af-
fected."

Alexander replied —

" I am aware of all this, Parmenio, but feel
ashamed, after crossing the Hellespont without diffi-
culty, to allow this petty stream to prevent us from
fording it as we are. I regard such conduct as incon-
sistent with the glory of the Macedonians, and my
own eagerness to encounter dangers. I feel also that
the Persians, if they do not instantly suffer evils
correspondent to their fears, will recover their cour-
age, as being able to face the Macedonians on the
field of battle."

Had the passage of the Granicus been the sole
object, the veteran general's proposition was no doubt
the safest. For we know, from the writings of
Xenophon, that a Persian army, consisting princi-
pally of cavalry, could not safely encamp near an
enemy superior in infantry. But Alexander felt the
necessity of making a strong impression, and refused
to steal an advantage, as much from a chivalrous irn-

^Etat. 22.] ORDER OF BATTLE. 57

pulse, as from a well-grounded belief that one field
fairly and openly won is, in its ultimate effects,
worth ten advantages attained by stealth, stratagem,
or treachery.

Immediately above the right bank of the Granicus
there was a step, or narrow strip of level ground,
extending from the river to the foot of a long line,
of low hills, running parallel with the stream. The
Persian cavalry, 20,000 in number, were drawn up in
line on this step. The hills in their rear were crowned
by an equal number of Greek mercenaries under the
command of Omares, a Persian.

The Macedonian phalanx was composed of eight
brigades, containing 2000 men each, and commanded
by eight generals of equal rank. These could act
separately or conjointly, as every brigade was com-
plete in itself. It was divided into regiments of
1000 each, commanded by their own colonels. Each
regiment was composed of two battalions of 500 each,
officered in the same manner. Each battalion was
subdivided into eight companies, led by their own
captains. Eor the purpose of command the Mace-
donian army was divided into two wings. Alex-
ander always commanded the extreme right, and the
most confidential officer the extreme left. The bri-
gades of the phalanx were attached arbitrarily either
to the right or the left wing. On the present occa-
sion, the right wing consisted of the Companion
cavalry, the Agrian infantry, and the archers under
Philotas, the heavy lancers, and the Preonians under
Amyntas, the son of Arrhabseus, and the royal foot

58 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

guards, also honored with the title of Companions,
under Nicanor, the son of Parmenio. Next to him
were drawn up five brigades of the phalanx com-
manded successively by Perdiccas, Ccenus, Craterus,
Amyntas, the son of Andromenes, and Philip, the son
of Amvntas. All were under the immediate com-

b

mand of Alexander.

On the extreme left were posted the Thessalian
cavalry commanded by Calas, the son of Harpalus,
the confederate cavalry under Philip, the son of
Menelaus, and the Thracians under Agathon. Next
to him were the three remaining brigades of the
phalanx commanded in the order of their names, by
another Craterus, Meleager, and a third Philip, whose
brigade touched that of his namesake the son of
Amyntas. All these were under Parmenio's orders.

As soon as the Persians perceived that Alexander
had placed himself at the head of the Companion
cavalry,* on the extreme right, they strengthened
their own left with denser masses of horse. The
king was easily recognized by the splendor of his
arms, the white plume in his helmet, his gorgeous
shield and polished cuirass, and by the magnificent
and dazzling equipments of his immediate retinue.
Both armies halted on the very brink of the river,
and surveyed each other for some time. A deep
silence prevailed during this moment of hesitation
and doubt. Then Alexander mounted the gallant
charger destined to carry him triumphant over so

* The Companion cavalry, so often mentioned in this book,
was the mounted guard — a body of great efficiency.

-flEtat. 22.] BATTLE OF THE GRANICUS. 59

many fields and briefly exhorted his immediate com-
panions to follow him and prove themselves good
warriors.

Ptolemy, the son of Philip, whose right it was on
that day to lead the attack, first entered the river.
He was supported by Amyntas, the son of Arrha-
bteus, and Socrates, who led forward the heavy lan-
cers, the Pseonians, the Prodromi, and one brigade of
infantry. Then the whole right wing was led by
Alexander into the current amidst the sound of trum-
pets and the loud paeans of the troops.

Amyntas, Ptolemy, and Socrates, soon reached the
opposite bank, but struggled in vain to make their
landing good, as the Persians, not content with show-
ering their missiles from the upper ground, rode
down and combated the Macedonians in the water.
As Memnon and his sons, together with the flower of
the Persian cavalry, were engaged in this quarter,
they succeeded either in cutting down this vanguard
or driving it back on Alexander, who was now ad-
vancing. He, himself, with the Companion cavalry,
charged where he saw the densest mass and the great-
est number of Persian chiefs assembled. The battle
was more of a personal struggle between individuals
than regular charges of cavalry. In the shock Alex-
ander shivered his lance to pieces and called upon
Aretus, his chief groom, to furnish him with another.
The same misfortune had happened to him, although
he continued fighting bravely with the broken stump.
Holding this up, he desired his sovereign to ask some
one else. Demaratus, the Corinthian, one of the

60 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

Companions, then lent him his. The superior
strength and skill of the Macedonians were now
manifest, and the Persian javelins and scimetars
were found ineffectual against the Macedonian lance,
the shaft of which was made of tough cornel wood.
The efforts of the cavalry drove the Persians from
the hank, and Alexander, with the head of the column,
gained the level step between the river and the moun-
tains.

There he was instantly marked out by Mithri-
dates, the son-in-law of Darius, who dashed at him
at the head of a troop of horse drawn up in the form
of a wedge, with a very obtuse angle. As Mithri-
dates was in front, Alexander did not wait the
attack, but spurred his horse forwards, and directing
his lance against the face of his antagonist, slew him
on the spot. While he was disengaging his weapon,
Rhoesaces, another Persian nobleman, rode up, and
with his sword struck off a part of the king's plume
and helmet : Alexander pierced his breast through the
corslet, and brought him also to the ground. But this
could hardly have been done without wheeling round
and re-charging. While he was engaged in this sec-
ond single combat Spithridates, the Ionian satrap,
•came behind him and had raised his scimetar to strike
a blow, when his purpose was anticipated by Cleitus,
the son of Dropidas, who, with one tremendous stroke,
severed the Persian's shoulder from his body.

Cleitus was the brother of Larnice, the nurse of
Alexander, and was captain of the royal troop of the
Companion cavalry, to which in an especial manner

iEtat. 22.] BATTLE OF THE GRANICUS. 61

the safety of the king's person was entrusted. On this
occasion he was at his post and did his duty. We
have no reason to suppose that the light scimetar of
Spithridates would have made a greater impression
on the proof armor of Alexander than a similar wea-
pon in the hand of Rhocsaces. But what would have
been thought of the royal guards, had they allowed
their sovereign, after bringing down the two foremost
champions of the enemy, to be slain by the third ?

On equal ground the Persians failed to withstand
the charge of the Macedonian lances, and their line
gave way, first at the point where Alexander himself
was engaged, finally in all directions. For Parmenio
and the Thessalian and confederate cavalry had com-
pletely defeated the Persian right wing. The rout
was therefore general, but the actual loss of the Per-
sians was not great, as there was no pursuit. Among
the thousand horsemen, who fell on the field, were,
in addition to the chiefs before mentioned, ISTiphates,
Petenes, Mithrobarzanes, governor of Cappadocia,
Arbupales, son of Darius Artaxerxes, and Pharnaces,
the brother of the queen. The surviving leaders,
among whom was Memnon, fled disgracefully, and
left the Grecian mercenaries to their fate. These had
remained in their position, idle spectators of the short
but desperate contest which in a few minutes had
dispelled the delusion that Greece could never fur-
nish a cavalry equal to the Persian. The phalanx
was not engaged ; and the defeat of 20,000 Persian
horse was achieved by the light troope and cavalry
alona.

62 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 434.

But as the mercenaries under Omares still kept
their ground, the phalanx was brought up to attack
them in front, while Alexander and Parmenio with
their cavalry assailed them on both flanks. Omares
fell at his post, and the whole body, with the
exception of 2,000 prisoners, was cut to pieces.
These saved their lives by throwing themselves on
the ground and permitting the terrible phalanx to
march over their bodies. Their lives were spared,
but they were loaded with chains, and sent to till the
ground in Macedonia. It is difficult to sympathize
with men who for daily pay could be thus brought
to array themselves against their fellow countrymen,
and to fight the battles of barbarians against the cap-
tain-general of Greece.*

Of the Macedonians, there fell twenty-five of the
Companion cavalry, sixty other horsemen, and thirty
foot soldiers. It must not be imagined that no more
fell, but it is clear that the generals who wrote the
account of Alexander's campaigns, mentioned the loss
of only the native born Macedonians. The fallen

' * The brilliance of this victory may be seen in the disparity
in the number of the losses. Alexander's total force numbered
35,000 ; the opposing army numbered 40,000 in all, 20.000
being Persian cavalry, and 20,000 being Greek mercenaries.
Alexander's total loss was 115 killed. Of the 20,000 Persian
cavalry, 1,000 were slain, while the force of Greek mercenaries
in the army of Darius was entirely destroyed. Tlfe* Persian
loss therefore amounted to more than one half .their army.
The significance of the victory was out of all -proportion to
the numbers engaged, for it made Alexander master of the
whole of Asia Minor north of the Taurus.

JRtmt. 22.] BATTLE OF THE GRANICUS. 63

were all buried on the field of battle, clad in their
armor, the noblest shroud, according to Xenophon,
for a slain warrior. The twenty-five Companions
were honored with monumental statues of bronze,
the workmanship of Lysippus, the favorite sculptor
of Alexander. They were erected at Dium, in Mace-
donia, where they remained until the rapacious Ro-
mans carried them away to Italy.

The Persian leaders were also buried with due hon-
ors, as well as the mercenary Greeks who had fallen
in a bad cause.

The king was particular in his attentions to the
wounded ; he visited every individual, examined his
wounds, and by asking how, and in what service he
had received them, gave every man an opportunity of
recounting and perhaps of exaggerating his deeds.

Alexander selected 300 panoplies as an offering
for the Athenian Minerva. They were sent to
Athens, and suspended in the Parthenon, with the
following inscription :

" Alexander, the son of Philip, and the Greeks,
except the Lacedaemonians, these, from the barba-
rians inhabiting Asia."

This is generally regarded as a compliment to the
Athenians : — if so, it was intended for the Athe-
nians of former days, not for the contemporaries of
Demosthenes ; for no distinction was made between
the Athenians captured in the enemy's ranks and the
prisoners belonging to other states.

From the very beginning Alexander regarded Asia
as his own, and the Asiatics as his subjects. His

64 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

first admonition to bis soldiers was, to spare their
own. There occur no instances of plunder, no sys-
tem of devastation, similar to that practiced by
Agesilaus and described by Xenophon. The only
2hange was to substitute a Macedonian instead of a
Persian satrap. Acting on this principle, he ap-
pointed Galas, the son of Harpalus, governor of the
Hellespontian Phrygia, and ordered him to exact no
more from the provincials than the regular revenue
payable to Darius.

The chief city of the satrap was Dascylium, situ-
ated on the Propontis, to the east of the Rhyndacus.
Parmenio was sent forward, and took possession of it
without resistance. Alexander himself visited Zeleia,
a Homeric city on the banks of the " dark flowing
waters ' of the ^Esepus. The river is now called
Biga, and the town of the same name cannot be far
from the site of the ancient Zeleia.

Alexander might have marched up the vale of the
Rhyndacus, surmounted the pass called by the Turks,
the Iron Gate, and descended into the plain of the
Caicus. But he returned to Ilium, as distinctly men-
tioned bv Strabo, and marched into Southern Asia
by the more frequented road through Antandrus,
Adramyttium, Pergamus, and Thyateira.

The intervening towns offered no resistance, and
when within eight miles of Sardes, he was met by a
deputation, headed by the principal citizens and
accompanied by Mithrenes, the Persian governor of
the citadel. The Lydians, once a warlike and power-
ful nation, had, since their subjugation by Cyrus tbt

iEtat. 22.] SARDES— LYDIANS. 65

Elder, been Persian tributaries for nearly 200 years.
The yoke was, perhaps, not burdensome, but still
their happiness must have depended on the character
of their satrap, at whose mercy the policy of the Per-
sian government completely placed them. But their
recollections of ancient glory and independence still
remained. Men in their situation seldom have an
opportunity of testifying their love of the latter ex-
cept by changing their masters. And such a change,
if unattended with danger, is always welcomed. The
deputation presented the keys of the Lydian capital
to the descendant of Hercules, and had they known
the weak side of their new master, would have ex-
pressed their joy at returning under the ITeracleid
dominion, after the long continued usurpation of the
Mermnadrc and Achsemenidrc.

Mithrenes, who came to surrender the citadel and
the treasures entrusted to his care, was a traitor —
perhaps a weak man, paralyzed by the defeat and
death of Spithridates, his superior, and overcome by
the prayers of the Sardians. But treason had been
busy in the western provinces, and it appears unac-
countable that so many of the connections of Darius
should have been without command in the Persian
camp, except we suppose that the satraps had dis-
owned their authority, and fought the battle of the
Granicus in defence of their own governments, and
not of the empire.

Whatever were the motives of Mithrenes, his act

was base and fatal to his country. The citadel of

Sardes was the most important fortress in Western
5

66 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

Asia, and the surrender of it at this critical period
furnished Alexander with money, of which he was
greatly in need, and enabled him to pursue Memnon,
the only antagonist in Asia Minor from whom he had
anything to dread.

Alexander encamped on the banks of the Hermus,
whence he issued a decree, by which all their laws,
rights, and privileges, as existing before the Persian
conquest, were restored to the Lydians. Their nomi-
nal independence was also proclaimed, and hailed
with as much applause as if it had been real. He
then ascended to the Sardian citadel, impregnable
from its natural position. A lofty mountain, trian-
gular in figure, rises abruptly from the plain of the
Hermus. A deep ravine, rendering the southern side
a perpendicular precipice, separates it from the
frowning masses of Mount Tmolus. The summit of
this isolated rock was crowned by the towers and
palace of the Lydian monarchs. According to a long-
cherished tradition, an oracle had forewarned an
ancient king of Lydia, that if he carried his son Leon,
or as some translate it, the Lion, his son, round the
citadel, it would always remain impregnable. He
obeyed partially, but thought it useless to go round
the precipitous side, which nature itself had appar-
ently rendered impregnable. Alexander was struck
with the boldness of the situation and extent of view
from the summit. He proposed to occupy the site of
the Lydian palace with a splendid temple of the
Olympian Jupiter — but did not live to execute his
plan. The Argives of the army, apparently in com-

JEtat. 22.] EPHESUS— GREEK PARTY SPIRIT. 67

pliment to the Heracleid connection, were left to
garrison the citadel.

From Sardes Alexander marched to Ephesus.
Here he came first in contact with the aristocratic
and democratic factions, which for the two preceding
centuries had destroyed the happiness and tranquil-
lity of every Grecian city of consequence. The aris-
tocratic party had always been patronized by Persia,
and Memnon had lately overthrown the existing
democracy at Ephesus, and committed the powers of
government to the opposite party. But the news of
the victory at the Granicus, followed by the rumored
approach of Alexander, caused the Persians to retire
to Miletus. With them also retired Amyntas, the
son of Antiochus, and other Macedonian exiles, who
had made Ephesus their city of refuge.

This flight restored the supremacy to the democra-
tic faction, which proceeded with more violence than
justice to take vengeance on its opponents. Some of
the aristocratic leaders were immediately stoned to
death, and a general massacre was threatened, when
Alexander arrived and compelled his friends to be
satisfied with a bloodless supremacy. Arrian writes,
that this active interference of the king in defence of
the adverse party, gave him more immediate renown
than any other of his deeds in Asia Minor. The con-
duct of the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, the two
^reat patrons of the opposite factions, had been so
different on similar occasions, that we need not be
surprised at the natural effect of Alexander's more
merciful and judicious conduct.

68 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

The temple of Ephesus, destroyed by fire on the
night of his birth, was in the act of being rebuilt. He
assigned the revenues, paid by the city to the great
king, to the promotion of the work. In after times
he offered to bear the whole expense, great as it must
have been, on condition of having his name alone
inscribed on the building. The Ephesians prettily
evaded the offer, by saying " that it did not become
one god to dedicate a temple to another."

Alexander paid due honors to the great Diana of
the Ephesians. The misshapen statue," the heaven-
fallen idol was carried in procession, while he, at the
head of his troops, formed a part of the pageantry.
The disciple of Aristotle was a Polytheist in the
most extensive sense of the word, and, could bow his
head with equal reverence in Grecian, Tyrian, ^Egyp-
tian, and Assyrian temples.

From Ephesus Alexander marched f to Miletus, the

* The image of the Ephesian Diana, with her multiplicity
of breasts to signify fertility, is one of the most revolting of
idols. It is strange that so hideous an image was enshrined
in so beautiful a temple.

f Between Ephesus and Miletus lay the Ionic city of Priene,
a city not mentioned in this narrative, but important to
modern students of the period. The inhabitants of this city,
grateful for their release from the yoke of the Persian Darius,
gave tangible evidence of their joy by improving or rebuild-
ing, the city on a magnificent scale. It was without doubt a
type of the large number of cities built by Alexander, or
under his patronage. This city itself early fell into disuse
and ruin by reason of the disappearance of the fine harbor,
but the ruins themselves remained undisturbed through many
centuries. They were first visited by European antiquarians

Mat. 22.] MILETUS— PERSIAN FLEET. 69

Ionian capital, celebrated for its wealth, naval power,
and colonies. The governor had promised to give up
the city without resistance, but the arrival of the
Persian fleet, far superior to the Macedonian, had
induced him to retract his word.

Miletus was situated at the mouth of the Msean-
der, which then emptied its waters into the upper end
of a considerable creek. This is now filled up, and
the fair harbor of Miletus converted into a fertile
plain. This is a well known fact, and often paral-
leled, for the undisturbed water of a long creek acted
upon by an operative river, will necessarily become
firm land. Nor does this admission contradict the
observations formerly made on this subject, as they
referred more to the action of rivers, the mouths of
ft'hieh have reached the open sea.

The entrance to the Milesian harbor was narrow,
but the Macedonian fleet had occupied it previous to
the arrival of the Persians. The Milesians, thus
blockaded by sea and land, intimated to Alexander
their wish to be neutral, and their willingness to re-
ceive the Persian as well as the Macedonian fleet into

in 1765 : and a century later, in 1868, the temple was excavated.
It bore this inscription : —

KINO ALEXANDER DEDICATED THIS TEMPLE TO ATHENA POLIAS.

In the year I89S the work of excavating (ho city was resumed
on a thorough scale, and the result is in interest second
only to thai of Pompeii. An excellent account of the ruins,
with ill- be found in the Century for 'May, 1C01,

from which t1 •• rea I r may '.r"t a clear and accurate idea cf
the Deauty and magnificence of Alexander's Asiatic cities.

70 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 343.

the harbor. As they had not the power to enforce
their proposed system of neutrality, their offer could
be regarded only as an insult. As such Alexander
viewed it, and told the deputy to depart instantly and
warn his fellow citizens to prepare for an assault.
The deed followed the word, and Miletus was carried
by storm. Three hundred Greek mercenaries, partly
by swimming, partly by floating on their broad
shields, reached a small island in the harbor. Alex-
ander admiring their gallantry, spared their lives,
and incorporated them with his own troops.

Although the Macedonian fleet had prevented the
Persians from entering the harbor, it was not strong
enough to face the enemy on the open sea. Hence its
future motions became a subject of grave delibera-
tion. Parmenio proposed the embarkation of a
chosen body of the land forces, and a sudden attack
on the enemy's fleet. But Alexander, whose ex-
hausted exchequer severely felt the na^ral expenses,
was for immediately dismantling it. He refused to
risk his gallant soldiers in a contest on the unsteady
and tottering waves, where the superior skill of the
Phoenician and Cyprian sailors might render bravery
and military discipline unavailing.

Much might be said in favor of both propositions,
and the arguments of the veteran general and of the
monarch are equally weighty. But it may surprise
a modern reader to find that, either from policy or
faith, the question mainly turned on the right inter-
pretation of an omen. An eagle had by chance
perched on a Macedonian vessel, which had been

jEtat. 22.] MEMNON— HALICARNASSUS. 71

drawn ashore. Parmenio argued that as the bird's
face was directed seaward, a naval victory was clearly
indicated. Alexander, on the contrary, contended
that as the ship on which the eagle had perched was
on shore, the fair inference was that they were to
obtain the victory by watching the enemy's motions
from the shore, and preventing them from landing
in any spot. His reasoning prevailed in the council,
and the fleet was laid up in the harbor of Miletus.
Parmenio was sent, at the head of a strong force, to
receive the submission of the great cities Magnesia
and Tralles, in the vale of the Meander; and
Alexander himself marched along the coast to
Halicarnassus.

Darius, on receiving intelligence of the defeat at
the Granicus, and of the death of so many satraps,
appointed Memnon his lieutenant-general, with un-
limited power of action in Lower Asia and its mari-
time dependencies. Memnon had collected a fleet of
four hundred triremes, with which he prepared to
counteract the projects of Alexander. The rapidity
of the latter's movements had wrested Ionia from the
empire ; but every effort was made for the preserva-
tion of Caria. Halicarnassus, its capital, situated
on the south-western shore of the Ceramic gulf, was
carefully fortified and provisioned. It was guarded
by two citadels, one called by Strabo the island-fort,
and the other Salmacis, celebrated for the supposed
effeminating qualities of its fountain. The island
fortress is now united to the continent, and continues,
under the name of Boodroom, to be the strongest

72 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

place on that coast. The city itself was protected on
the land side by an immense ditch, thirty cubits wide
and fifteen deep. The besiegers had to fill this,
before they could bring their battering engines to
bear on the wall. Menmon had abundance of troops,
of all denominations and races. Xumerous sallies
took place, in one of which Xeoptolemus, the son of
Arrhaba?us, a Macedonian exile of high rank, fell,
while bearing arms against his country. In another
skirmish the Persians had become masters of the
bodies of some Macedonian soldiers, which, according
to the laws of Grecian warfare, Alexander demanded
by herald, for the purpose of burial. Diodorus writes
that Memnon complied with the request, in opposi-
tion to the advice of two Athenian leaders, Ephialtes
and Thrasvbulus. Mitford from this draws an infer-
ence to prove the inhuman ferocity of the Demosthe-
nean party : but this, like many other of his deduc-
tions, is unfair.

Among the southern Greeks no skirmish, however
trifling, took place that was not followed by the erec-
tion of a trophy. As both parties were bound to bury
their dead, the inability to do this without requesting
the leave of the opposite party, was the test of defeat,
and a trophy erected under such circumstances was
regarded legitimate, and consequently sacred. But
the Macedonians had long ceased to raise trophies,
and scrupled not to destroy them if erected. The fair
inference therefore from the above-mentioned fact is,
that the Athenian generals were unwilling to restore
the bodies unless Alexander would allow them to raise

-ffitat. 22.] EPHIALTES— MEMNON. 73

a trophy — a circumstance which, as he did not under-
stand trifling in war, he was not likely to approve of.

As the works of the besiegers were advancing, the
Athenian, Ephialtes, at the head of a chosen body of
troops, and supported by Memnon, made a bold at-
tempt to bum the works and the engines. A regular
battle took place, in which the assailants were, not
without difficulty, driven back. The Macedonians
lost nearly as many men as at the battle of the Grani-
cus. Among others fell Ptolemy, a general of the
body guard ; Clearchus, commander of the archers ;
and Addams, a chiliarch or colonel of a regiment.
The Persians, regarding the city as no longer tenable,
set it on fire, and retired to the citadels. As these
appeared impregnable a body of troops was left to
observe and blockade them.

The city was the capital of a race of princes, who,
in subjection to Persia, had long governed Caria.
Hecatomnus, in the preceding generation, had left
three sons and two daughters. According to a prac-
tice common among the royal families in Asia, Mau-
solus, the eldest brother, had married Artemisia, the
elder sister, who, by a law peculiar to Caria, was en-
titled to the throne if she survived her husband. She
became a widow, and tr--tified her respect for his
memory by the erection of the splendid and tasteful
monument that has given the name of Mausoleum to
all similar structures.* Grief soon destroyed her,

* The tomb of iVfan^oln^. which was erected by his widow
at Halicarnaaana about 352 B.C., vraa the most prorgeons and
beautiful specimen of architectural sculpture the world has

74 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

and she was succeeded by the second brother, Hidri-
eus, who had married the younger sister, Ada. She
survived him, but had been dethroned by the youngest
brother, Pexodarus. Orontobates, a Persian noble-
man, had married his daughter, and the Persian court
had thus been induced to connive at the usurper's in-
justice. The deposed queen still retained the fortress
of Alinda, where she was visited by Alexander, and
restored to the Carian throne. She adopted her bene-
factor as her son; nor did he disdain to call her
mother.

This princess, accustomed to the refinements and
delicacies of an oriental court, was shocked at the
plain fare and simple habits of the Macedonian
soldier. During his stay at Alinda, she regularly
supplied his table from her own kitchen, and when
he was departing presented him with some of her
best cooks and confectioners ; but he refused to accept
them, saying, " he had been supplied with better
cooks by his governor, Leonnatus — a march, before
day, to season his dinner, and a light dinner to pre-
pare his supper." On this occasion he added, that
Leonnatus used to examine the chests and wardrobes
in which his bedding and cloaks were put, lest some-
seen. It was justly reckoned by the ancients as one of the
seven wonders of the world. In later years the building was
entirely destroyed, and for centuries even its precise location
was unknown ; but modern excavators have discovered the
ground plan of the building and many fragments of sculpture,
so that it is now possible to get a fairly correct idea of the
building as it stood in its glory. The name of the architect
and sculptor was Scopas.

JEtat. 22.] THREE BRIDEGROOM GENERALS. ?5

thing of luxury or superfluity should be introduced
by Olympias.

The summer was now drawing to a close, and
Alexander rendered it memorable by an act of kind-
ness, which has been oftener praised than imitated.
He granted permission to all his soldiers, who had
lately married, to return and spend the winter with
their brides. Xo distinction was made between of-
ficers and privates ; and the whole body marched
homewards under the command of three bridegroom
generals, Ptolemy, the son of Seleucus, Coenus and
Meleager. Should we view this as an act of policy,
and not as emanating from the kind feelings of a
warm heart, the success would be the same. Young
warriors, with their laurels still green, returning to
their homes and their youthful partners, and spread-
ing over all Greece their partial accounts of the valor,
generosity and kind feelings of their victorious cap-
tain-general, would be the most influential agents that
ever roused eager spirits to take up arms and rush to
war.

Parmenio conducted the Thessalians, the Greeks
of the Confederacy, and the baggage and artillery, to
Sardes, into winter quarters. But winter could not
arrest Alexander's own exertions. Advancing into
Lycia and Pamphylia, he proceeded to wrest the
whole line of sea-coast from the enemies, and thus
paralyse the operations of their superior fleet. On
entering Lycia, Telmissus, a city on the banks of the
Calbis, and celebrated for its race of diviners, opened
its gates. He then crossed the river Xanthus, and

76 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

received the submission of the cities Patara, Xanthus
and Pinara. These were the seats of the Homeric
heroes, Glaucus and Sarpedon, whose amiable and
warlike character belonged to the Lycians in general.

It is much to the credit of Alexander's character
and policy that not a sword was drawn to oppose his
progress. He, according to his general principles,
would respect their franchises and privileges; and
they, Cretans by descent, and living apparently under
the institutions of Minos, would naturally not be
averse to a Greek connection.

Alexander, continuing his march up the Xanthus,
arrived in that part of Lycia called, from its original
inhabitants, Milyas. There he was overtaken by
deputies from the important city of Phaselis, bring-
ing a crown of gold and offers of submission.

In descending from Milyas to Phaselis, he had to
cross a mountainous ridge, the pass over which was
commanded by the Pisidian town Termessus. This
he took by storm, and thus conferred a signal favor on
the peaceful occupiers of the low-lands, who had long
been harassed by its bandit possessors.

It was now mid-winter ; and the rich and luxurious
city of Phaselis enabled Alexander to recruit the
strength of his troops, and to enjoy a short repose
himself. But this was disagreeably interrupted by a
communication from Parmenio, announcing a traitor-
ous correspondence between Alexander, the son of
Aeropus, and the Persian court. We have before
seen that he was almost known to have participated in
the conspiracy to which Philip fell a victim, and that

-ffitat. 22.] ALEXANDER THE LYNCESTIAN. 77

nothing but his apparent exertions in favor of Alex-
ander, at a very critical period, had saved him from
the fate of the other traitors. He was now the first
prince of the blood, in high favor with Alexander,
who had lately appointed him commander-in-chief of
the Thessalian cavalry. The purport of Parmenio's
communication was, that he had arrested a suspi-
cious-looking stranger, by name Asisines, who, when
questioned, had confessed himself to be a Persian
emissary: that Amyntas, the son of Antiochus, on
deserting, had carried some written proposals from
the son of Aeropus to Darius ; that he, the emissary,
had been commissioned to confer with the Lyncestian,
to offer him the Macedonian throne and a thousand
talents, provided Alexander the king were put out of
the way. The Persian was sent in chains to be inter-
rogated by the king and council.

The king immediately placed the information be-
fore his friends, who unanimously accused him of
rashness, in bestowing the most important command
in the army on a man whose past conduct had ren-
dered him justly liable to suspicion. They advised
therefore his instant removal, before he could ingrati-
ate himself with the Thessalians, and be thus enabled
to do mischief.

But the management of the affair required con-
siderable delicacy. Parmenio had only one company
of Macedonians: even the Sardian garrison was
Argive, and the remainder of the force under his
command consisted of the Thessalians and other
Greek confederates. It appeared therefore probable,

78 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

that if the Lyncestian obtained the slightest hint of
the discovery of the plot, he might excite some serious
disturbance, or at least carry a part of the troops over
to the enemy. Xo written orders were therefore
judged prudent, but Amphoterus, an officer of high
rank, was dispatched with a verbal message to
Parmenio. Disguised in the native dress, and guided
by Pisidians, he arrived safely at Sardes, and de-
livered his orders, according to which the Lyncestian
was instantly taken into custody.

Phaselis was situated at the foot of that part of
Mount Taurus which terminates opposite the Che-
lidonian islands. The highest point of the range, im-
mediately overlooking the sea, was anciently called
Solyma, from the warlike Solymi of Homer. A little
to the south of this was the mountain Chimsera, with
its Bellerophontic fables. It is curious that a strong
flame, called by the Turks yanar, still burns there
unconsumed, and proves to this day the connection
between the fabulous poetry of the Greeks and nat-
ural phenomena. Mount Solyma itself is 7800 feet
high, and some of its eastern ridges, under the name
of Climax, or the Ladder, descend almost abruptly
to the western shore of the gulf of Attalia. Alexan-
der therefore, in advancing from Phaselis to Perga,
had either to cross the almost precipitous ridge of
Mount Climax, or to march along the sea shore, at
the foot of the cliffs. He preferred the latter ; and as
Strabo's account of this renowned adventure is parti-
cularly clear, I introduce it.

"Mount Climax overhangs the Pamphylian sea,

JEtsit. 22.] MARCH THROUGH THE SEA. ?9

but leaves a narrow road upon the beach. This, in
calm weather, is dry, and passable by travellers ; but
when the sea flows, the road, to a great extent, is
covered by the waves. The passage over the hills is
circuitous and difficult : consequently, in fine weather,
the shore road is used. But Alexander, although the
weather was boisterous, trusting principally to
chance, set out before the swell had ceased, and the
soldiers had to march during the whole day up to
their middle in water."

It was a rash adventure, and attended with danger ;
for had a strong south wind arisen, the whole army
would have been dashed against the rocks. As, on
the contrary, a smart north wind had succeeded vio-
lent storms from the south, ample occasion was given
to the royal sycophants to proclaim aloud, that the sea
had acknowledged the sovereignty of Alexander, and
obsequiously retired before its lord and master. Alex-
ander himself made no miracle of the event: in his
letters, as quoted by Plutarch, he simply wrote — " I
marched from Phaselis by the way called Climax."

" Menander, (I quote from Langhorn's Plutarch,)
in his pleasant way, refers to this pretended miracle
in one of his comedies:

" How like great Alexander ! Do I seek
A friend ? Spontaneous he presents himself.
Have I to march where seas indignant roll ?
The sea retires, and there I march."

This is in far better taste than the attempt of

80 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

Josephus to illustrate the miraculous passage of the
Red Sea, by a reference to this adventure.*

Thence he visited in succession Perga, Aspendus,
Side, and Sillium. At the last place his further
progress eastward was arrested by hearing that the
Aspendians, who had agreed to pay fifty talentsf and
deliver up the horses which they were breeding for
the Persian government, were inclined to evade both
conditions, and preparing to withstand a siege. He
instantly retraced his steps ; and, arriving sooner than
these men expected, made himself master of the lower
town, on the banks of the Eurymedon, and confined
the Aspendians within their mountain citadel. Over-
awed by this activity, they submitted to harder terms
than they had before refused to execute.

Thence he returned to Perga, and marched up the
narrow vale of the Oestrus, with the intention of
crossing Mount Taurus and entering the greater
Phrygia. During this route he had to pass through

* " Nor let any one wonder at the strangeness of the narra-
tion [of the dividing of the Red Sea.] if a way were discovered
to those men of old time, who were free from the wickedness
of the modern ages, whether it happened by the will of God,
or whether it happened of its own accord ; while for the sake
of those that accompanied Alexander, king of Macedonia,
who yet lived comparatively but a little while ago, the
Pamphylian Sea retired and afforded them a passage through
itself, when they had no other way to go ; I mean, when it
was the will of God to destroy the monarchy of the Persians.
And this is confessed to be true by all that have written
about the actions of Alexander." — Josephus, Antiquities of
the Jews, Bk. II., chap. xvi.

f About $85,000?

^Etat. 22.] SAGALASSUS— CEhJEKJE. 81

the territories of the Pisida>A[ountainocrs, who re-
tained a wild independence amidst their hill for-
tresses, and whose hand was always raised to smite
their more civilized neighbors. A strong pass in the
main ridge of Taurus, and probably in the ravine of
the Oestrus, was commanded by the inhabitants of a
second Telmissus. Alexander forced his way through
the defile, but despaired of capturing the city without
his battering train. He therefore continued his
march up the Oestrus. The Sagalassians, a powerful
Pisidian tribe, possessed the upper part of the vale.
These were joined by the Telmissians, who by moun-
tain roads outstripped the Macedonian army. The
united tribes fought a gallant battle in front of Saga-
lassus, but were defeated, and the city was taken.
The Selgse, who dwelt in the upper vales of the Eury-
medon and its tributary streams, entered into alliance
with Alexander, who then brought the whole of
Pisidia to acknowledge his sovereignty. This winter
campaign among the snows, torrents and precipices of
Mount Taurus, is one of Alexander's greatest achieve-
ments. Apparently he was the first foreigner that
ever conquered the Pisidians.

A march of five days brought him to Cclamsc, the
capital of the greater Phrygia. Its situation, at the
sources of the Marsyas and of the Mseander, has been
elegantly described by Xenophon. The town sub-
mitted without resistance; but its citadel, crowning
the summit of a dark frowning rock, equally high and
precipitous, was impregnable if honestly defended.
The garrison however, consisting of mercenary Greeks
6

82 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

and Carians, engaged to surrender if not relieved by
a certain day. Alexander agreed to their proposal,
and left fifteen hundred men to watch the fortress,
and receive its submission at the appointed period.
Antigonus, the son of Philip, who had married
Stratonice, either the daughter or sister of the late
king, was declared satrap of the greater Phrvgia.
After the king's death he became one of his most dis-
tinguished successors. He had hitherto been the com-
mander of the Greeks of the Confederacy.

From Cela?na3 Alexander sent orders to Parmenio,
to join the head-quarters at Gordium, whither he was
himself marching. Here the whole army re-united ;
for the bridegrooms from Macedonia, attended by a
strong body of recruits, arrived there also. At the
same time came an Athenian embassy, to request
Alexander to liberate the Athenians captured at the
Granicus. Their request was refused, as it was
judged impolitic to lead others to regard the bearing
arms against united Greece, in behalf of barbarians,
as a light offence. They were, however, told to renew
their petition at a more favorable season.

Gordium, in the time of Phrygian independence,
was the capital of a powerful kingdom, and could
boast a long line of resident monarchs. It was situ-
ated on the left bank of the river Sangarius, and as
late as Livy's age, was a commercial mart of some
importance. Within the citadel were built the palaces
of Gordius and Midas. Thither Alexander ascended
in order to examine the famous Gordian knot, the
solution of which was to indicate the future sovereign

jEtta.22.] GORDIUS— MIDAS. 83

of Asia. The tradition of the Phrygians respecting
it is highly interesting, as presenting a vivid picture
of the ancient Asiatics.

Gordius, according to the tale, was a husbandman,
possessing a small plot of ground and two yokes of
oxen, one for his plough and another for his cart. As
he was ploughing his field an eagle perched upon the
yoke, and remained till the termination of the day's
labor. Anxious to obtain an explanation of the
singular omen, he set out to consult the diviners of
Telmissus. As he was approaching one of their vil-
lages, he saw a young maiden who had come forth to
draw water : to her he opened his case. She was of
the gifted race, and advised him to return home and
sacrifice to Jupiter, The King. Gordius persuaded
his fair adviser to accompany him, and teach him how
to perform the ceremony duly and rightly. She con-
sented, the sacrifice was completed, and the grateful
husbandman married the maiden. Midas was their
only son, and grew up a handsome and spirited man.
In the meantime, the Phrygians had suffered severely
from civil dissensions. In their distress they con-
sulted the gods, who answered, w that a cart should
bring them a king who would terminate their internal
broils." As the whole assembly was deliberating on
the meaning of this oracular promise, Midas drove
up his father and mother in their rustic vehicle, to
the outer circle, and was immediately recognized as
the sovereign promised by the oracle. In memory of
the event he consecrated the cart to Jupiter The King,
and placed it in the citadel, to which he gave his

84: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 334.

father's name. The yoke was tied to the pole by a
band formed of the bark of the cornel tree, and the
knot on this was the celebrated test of future emi-
nence.

In this account we see manifest traces of the ex-
istence of a republic of husbandmen in Phrygia, who,
unable to free themselves from the evils of faction in
any other manner, chose, like the Israelites, a king.
Long before Homer's age the Phrygians had been
subjected to monarchal rule, as he makes even the
aged Priam refer to his youthful campaigns on the
banks of the Sangarius, when he bore arms in aid of
the Phrygian kings Otreus and Mygdon, against the
invading Amazons, who most probably were the loose-
robed Assyrians.

Various accounts were spread of the mode in which
Alexander solved the difficulty. The most prevalent
is, that baffled by the complicated nature of the knot,
he drew his sword and cut it asunder. This, as being
supposed most accordant with his character, has ob-
tained universal belief. But Aristobulus, who was
probably present, wrote, that he took out the pin that
traversed the pole, and was thus enabled to detect the
clews before invisible. At all events he did not
descend from the citadel without satisfying the public
that he had fulfilled the tradition, and was thencefor-
ward to be regarded as the lord of Asia.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SECOND CAMPAIGN IN ASIA, B. C. 333.

Alexander's object in concentrating his forces at
Gordium, was the conquest of the two powerful
provinces of Paphlagonia and Cappadocia. With the
spring, therefore, he marched from Gordium to
Ancyra, the modern Angora. Here a deputation
from the Paphlagonian chiefs waited on him, profess-
ing their submission, but requesting as a favor not to
be visited by an armed force. Such messages in after-
times met with little favor from Alexander. But the
period was critical, and he knew from Xenophon, that
the Paphlagonian sovereign of his day could bring
100,000 horsemen into the field. Their submission
was, therefore, received, and they were ordered to
place themselves under the government of Calas, the
satrap of the Hellespontian Phrygia. He then ad-
vanced into Cappadocia, and subdued the whole
country within the Halys, and a considerable part of
that beyond it. The whole of Cappadocia was en-
trusted to the care of a satrap called Abistamenes by
Curtius, Sabictas by Arrian. Thence he marched
southward into Cilicia. The south-eastern part of
Cappadocia is an elevated step, whence the waters
that do not flow into the Halys, have fall sufficient to

85 *

86 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

burst through the barriers of Mount Taurus in their
course to the Cilician sea. The ravines are, conse-
quently, very narrow, and of great depth, and form
defiles " where one man is better to prevent than ten
to make way." The main pass is situated between
Tyana and Tarsus, and has often been celebrated in
ancient histories. But its value as a military post
has been much exaggerated by historians. Of this the
best proof is, that no successful defence of it is
recorded in history. The main ridge of Mount
Taurus is intersected in this vicinity by so many
streams, that great advantages are placed at the com-
mand of the assailant, and enable him to choose his
point of attack.

One day's march to the north of the main pass was
a fortified camp, attributed by Arrian to the
Younger, by Curtius to the Elder Cyrus, who, in the
campaign against Croesus, fortified it as a stationary
position. As Alexander came from the Ancyra road,
he did not follow the steps of the Younger Cyrus,
who, we know from Xenophon, formed no stationary
camp there. We may be, therefore, certain, that Cur-
tius on this occasion followed the better authority.
Parmenio, with the main body, was ordered to halt in
this camp, while Alexander, with his own guards, the
archers, and his favorite Agrians, entered the moun-
tain passes by night, and turned the enemy's position.
On discovering this, the defenders of the pass fled,
and left the road to the plain open. !N~ext day the
whole army surmounted the main defile and com-
menced the descent into Cilicia. Here information

.Etat. 23.] TARSUS— ALEXANDER'S ILLNESS. 87

reached Alexander that Tarsus was threatened with
conflagration by its satrap Arsames, who, according
to Memnon's plan, had already laid waste a great part
of the province. Alexander, with his cavalry, reached
Tarsus with extraordinary speed, and saved it from
destruction. But overpowered with heat and covered
with dust, and seduced by the limpid appearance of
the waters of the Cydnus, he imprudently bathed.
Although it was summer in the plain, the stream
partook more of the temperature of the melting snows
of Taurus than of the circumambient atmosphere.
The consequence was a violent reaction, and a fever
that nearly proved fatal.

Even without the intervention of the cold waters
of the Cydnus, it is almost impossible to conceive how
a prince of Alexander's early age and unseasoned
habits, could have borne up under the numerous men-
tal anxieties, and the unceasing bodily labors endured
by him since his accession to the throne. If we
except the short repose at Dium, it had been one unin-
terrupted scene of violent exertion. We ought not,
therefore, to wonder that nature should at last vindi-
cate her rights, and compel a short cessation from
fatigue.

Philip, an Acarnanian, was the physician on
whom, at this critical period, devolved the responsibi-
lity of attending the royal patient. The fate of the
two continents depended upon the result, and the
Macedonians, to whom, at that moment, their king's
life was literally the breath of their nostrils, were not
likely to discriminate nicely between the inevitable

88 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333,

decree of nature and the work of treason. Therefore,
it may truly be said, that the lives of both physician
and patient trembled in the same balance. At the
very turn of the disease, when the king was preparing
to take a powerful medicine, he received a letter from
Parmenio, announcing a strong suspicion that the
Acarnanian had been bribed by Darius, and that his
prescriptions were to be avoided. Alexander, like
Julius Caesar, and some other noble spirits, would
probably have preferred being poisoned or stabbed a
thousand times, rather than prolong a wretched life
under the conviction that no friends, no dependants
were to be trusted. While, therefore, with one hand
he presented Parmenio's letter to Philip, with the
other he steadily carried the medicated potion to his
lips, and drank it with unhesitating confidence. I
have read, that the king before he swallowed the
draught must have seen the innocence of the phy-
sician in the expression of his countenance, on which
conscious truth and virtuous indignation would alone
be impressed. It might have been so, but the natural
effect of so serious an accusation from so hiffh a
quarter, joined with the known uncertainty of all
remedies, would be an overpowering feeling of anx-
iety, easily to be confounded with the indications of a
guilty conscience. " I praise Alexander, (writes
Arrian,) for the confidence he placed in his friend,
and for his contempt of death." His noble conduct
met with its reward. The remedy succeeded, youth
prevailed, and the soldiers had soon the happiness to
see their king and captain once more at their head.

^Etat. 23.] ANCHIALUS— SARDANAPALUS. 89

Then Parmenio was sent with a strong force to
occupy the passes between Cilicia and Syria. He
himself, with the rest of the army, marched to the
sea-coast and visited the ruins of Anchialus. These,
according to Aristobulus and Ptolemy, bore witness
to the former existence of a mighty city. Among
other remains they saw the statue of Sardanapalus,
the last monarch of Upper Assyria. It crowned the
summit of a monument dedicated to his memory.
The hands of the statue had one palm across the other,
as in the act of clapping. The inscription was char-
acteristic of the man :

" Sardanapalus, the son of Anacyndaraxes, built
Anchialus and Tarsus in one day. But do you, O
stranger, eat, drink, and be merry, as all other human
pursuits are not worth this ; ' alluding to the clap-
ping of his hands.

From Anchialus he moved westward to Soli.
Thence he made an incursion into the rugged Cilicia,
and connected the line of his martime communica-
tions with the point where the revolt of Aspendus had
stayed his further progress. On returning to Soli,
he received dispatches from Ptolemy, the governor of
Caria, and Asandrus, his satrap of Lydia, announc-
ing a complete victory over Orontobates, who had
been appointed the successor of Pexodarus by Darius.
The victory was followed by the capture of the for-
tresses which had hitherto held out, and the accession
of the island of Cos. Thus the whole of Asia Minor
had been subdued in the month of September, B. C.
333.

90 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

This important victory, and his own recovery, were
celebrated with public games, theatrical representa-
tions, and the festivities that usually accompanied
the performance of a great sacrifice. The whole army
attended the image of iEsculapius, in solemn proces-
sion, and the amusing spectacle of the lamp race was
exhibited at night.

Memnon had commenced naval operations with the
spring. From Samos he had sailed to Chios, which
was betrayed into his hands. Thence he sailed to
Lesbos, and soon induced four out of the five cities of
the island to renounce the Macedonian alliance, and
to submit to the terms imposed on the Greeks by the
peace of Antalcidas. But Mitylene, the chief city,
withstood a siege. As Memnon was eagerly pressing
this forward, he fell ill and died. This, according
to Arrian, was the severest blow that could befal
Darius. Memnon's plans were to reduce the islands,
occupy the Hellespont, invade Macedonia, and sub-
sidize the Southern Greeks. How far he was capable
of carrying them into effect must now remain un-
known. His plans procured him a great name, but
his actions are not worthy of being recorded. He was
a Rhodian, whose sister, a lady of great personal
beauty, had married Artabazus, the Persian satrap of
the Hellespontian Phrygia. Hence he became early
involved in the intrigues of the Persian court. Ar-
tabazus was one of the rebellious satraps, and al-
though supported by Memnon, had been compelled
with him and his family to take refuge in the Mace-
donian court, where Philip had given them a hospita-

JBtat. 23.] DEATH OF MEMNON. 91

ble reception. The high appointment of Mentor must
have introduced Memnon again upon the stage of
Asiatic politics ; yet, at the commencement of the war,
his situation in the Persian camp appears to have
been very subordinate. At the battle on the
Granicus he fought bravely, but, as a general, dis-
played no more self-possession and talent than his
companions. A brave man would have taken his
station with the Greek mercenaries; an able man,
from a fugitive cavalry 19,000 in number, and not
pursued, would have rallied some, at least, and
brought them back to support the retreat of the in-
fantry. At Ephesus his plans were counteracted ; at
Miletus he was too late ; and at Halicarnassus he lost
the strongest maritime fortress in Asia, although he
was master of the sea and of 400 triremes, and had
unlimited resources in men and money at his com-
mand. If we judge of him by his actions, we must
infer that party spirit invested him with talents that
did not belong to him. Pharnabazes, his sister's son,
was appointed his successor. He, in conjunction with
Autophradates, the admiral, forced Mytilene to sub-
jection, and separated Tenedos from the confed-
eracy. Here their enterprise and success ceased.
Thymodes, the son of Mentor, arrived with a com-
mission to convey all the Greek mercenaries to Syria.
The fleet was thus left comparatively helpless.

But the hopes of the anti-Macedonian party in
Greece, were great during the whole of this summer.
The Persian fleet commanded the iEgean, and all the
information that reached Greece was from the parti-

92 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

zans of Persia. The battle of Issus was not fought
till October; not a single military exploit of conse-
quence had marked the progress of the great army
during the previous summer. Darius was known to
have passed the Great Desert, and his camp was
thronged with republican Greeks, offering and press-
ing their military services ; and eager to reassert the
supremacy of the Southern Greeks on the plains of
Syria. The translation of the following passage
from the famous speech of JEschines, will illustrate
this assertion. He is addressing Demosthenes. "But
when Darius had arrived on the sea-coast with all his
forces, and Alexander, in Cilicia, was cut off from all
his communications, and in want of all things, as you
said, and was on the point, as you expressed it, of
being trodden under foot, together with his troops, by
the Persian cavalry ; when the citv could not bear
your insolence, as you went round with your dis-
patches hanging from every finger, and pointed me
out as melancholy in countenance and downcast in
spirits, adding, that my horns were already gilt for
the impending sacrifice, and that I should be crowned
with the garlands as soon as any misfortune befel
Alexander, yet even then you did nothing, but de-
ferred acting till a better opportunity." Demosthenes
was content with speaking, but Agis, the king of
Sparta, was more active : he sailed in a trireme, and
had an interview with Pharnabazus at the small
island of Syphnus. where they conferred on the best
manner of forming an anti-Macedonian party in
Greece. But the arrival of the information of the

iEtat. 23.] CHARIDEMUS-ANTIOCHUS. 93

defeat at Issus, put a sudden end to their delibera-
tions.

Darius had encamped in the great plain between
the Syrian Gates and the modern Aleppo. There he
prepared to wait the attack of his antagonist. But
the long delay caused by the illness of Alexander, by
the expedition into Western Cilicia, and by the ap-
parent necessity of waiting the result of the opera-
tions in Caria, induced Darius to imagine that his
opponent had no intention to give him battle.

The Persian king was not without Greek advisers ;
among others was Charidemus, the Athenian exile.
This democrat, having sought the court of a despot as
a refuge, was not forgetful of his liberty of speech ;
but having overstepped those limits of decorum, of
which the Medes and Persians were immutably jeal-
ous, was put to death. Amyntas, the son of Antio-
chus, besought Darius to remain in his camp, and
assured him, from his knowledge of Alexander's char-
acter, that he would be certain to seek his enemy
wherever he was to be found. But Darius was con-
fident of success, and hostile to delay; the principal
part of the equipage and court was, therefore, sent to
Damascus, and the army began to march into Cilicia.

Prom Soli, Philotas with the cavalry crossed the
great alluvial flat formed by the depositions of the
Cydnus and the Sarus, and called the Aleian plain
by the ancients, while Alexander conducted the in-
fantry along the sea-coast, and visited, first, a temple
of Minerva, built on a rising mound called Magarsus,
and then Mallus. To this city, an Argive colony, ho

94 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

remitted all the public taxes, and sacrificed to their
supposed founder, Amphilochus, with all the honors
due to a demi-god. The Persians had, of late years,
behaved tyrannically to most of their subjects in
Western Asia. Caria, as we have already seen, had
been deprived of its native princes: so had Paphla-
gonia and Cilicia : for the Syenesis, (long the name
of the independent kings of the latter province,) had
been replaced by a satrap. The natives had, conse-
quently, all welcomed with pleasure their change of
masters.

At Mallus, Alexander received information of the
advance of the Persian army to a place called Sochi,
within two days march of the Syrian Gates. On this
he summoned a council of war, and consulted it as to
ulterior measures. The council unanimously advised
him to advance and give the enemy battle. In accord-
ance with this resolution, the army moved forwards,
and in two days arrived at Castabala. There Parme-
nio met the king. He had forced his way over the
western ridge of Mount Amanus, through the pass
called the lower Amanian gates, had captured Issus,
and occupied the more eastern passes into Syria. In
two days more the army surmounted the Xenophon-
teian gates of Cilicia and Syria, and encamped at
Myriandrus. A heavy storm of wind and rain con-
fined the Macedonians within their camp during the
ensuing night. Next day Alexander was surprised
by the intelligence that Darius was in his rear.

The Persians had marched through the upper
Amanian gates into the plain of Issus, captured that

Mt&t. 23.] THE ARMIES PASS EACH OTHER. 95

town, and put the Macedonian invalids to a cruel
death. Thence Darius advanced to the Pinarus, a
river that flows through the plain of Issus into the
western side of the head of the gulf.

Alexander could not at first believe that Darius
was in his rear; he therefore ordered a few of the
Companions to embark in a thirty-oared galley, to
sail up the gulf, and bring back accurate intelligence.
Xothing can be a stronger proof either of the over-
weening confidence or of the extraordinary imbecility
of the Persian leaders, than that, with the full com-
mand of the sea, with innumerable ships, and with
time sufficient to have concentrated their whole naval
force, they had not apparently a single vessel in the
Issic gulf, or on the Cilician coast. The Companions
on board the galley executed their orders, and re-
ported that the curve of the bay had enabled them to
see the whole country, to the west of the gates, cov-
ered with the enemy's troops. Upon this Alexander
summoned the generals, the chief officers of the
cavalry, and the leaders of the confederates, and
addressed them in a speech, of which Arrian has
enumerated the principal topics.

When he had finished speaking, the veteran officers
crowded round their young captain, embraced his
hands, cheered his hopes by their confident speeches,
and desired him to lead them to the field without
delay. The day was now drawing to a close, the men
took their evening meal, and the whole army, pre-
ceded by a strong reconnoitring party, retraced its
steps towards the gates. At midnight it re-occupied

96 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

the defile. Strong watches were stationed on the sur-
rounding heights, whilst the rest were indulged with
a short repose. The king ascended a mountain,
whence he could see the whole plain blazing with the
camp fires of the Persian host. There he erected an
altar, and with his usual attention to religious duties,
sacrificed by torch-light to the patron gods of the
place.

With the dawn the army moved down the road, in
single column as long as the pass was narrow ; but as
it opened, the column was regularly formed into line,
with the mountain on the right and the sea on the
left hand. Alexander, as usual, commanded the right
and Parmenio the left wing. Craterus under Par-
menio, and Xicanor under Alexander, commanded
the wings of the phalanx.

Darius, whose movements were embarrassed by the
multitude of his forces, ordered his 30,000 cavalry
and 20,000 light troops to cross the Pinarus, that he
might have more room to form his lines. In the
centre he stationed his heavv armed Greek merce-
naries, 30,000 in number, the largest Greek force of
that denomination mentioned in historv. On each
side he distributed 60,000 Persians, armed in a simi-
lar manner. These troops were called Cardaces, all
natives of Persis, or Persia Proper, and trained to
arms from their vouth. To the extreme left of these
were posted 20,000 light troops, on the side of a hill,
and threatening the rear of Alexander's right wing.
To understand this, it must be supposed, that the
mountain at the western foot of which the Pinaru*

JEtat. 23.] BATTLE OF ISSUS. 97

flows, curves to the east with an inclination to the
south. Alexander's troops, who occupied a much
shorter portion of the course of the Pinarus, were
thus not only outflanked, but had their right wing
completely turned.

While Darius was thus forming his line, Alexan-
der brought up his cavalry, and sending the Pelopon-
nesians and other confederates to the left wing, re-
tained the Companions and the Thessalians. His
orders to Parmenio were to keep close to the sea and
avoid being turned. But when Darius had recalled
his cavalry and posted it between the Cardaces of the
right wing and the sea, Alexander, alarmed for the
safety of his own left, weak in horse, dispatched the
Thessalians by the rear to the support of Parmenio.
In front of the Companions were the Prodromi and
Pa3onians. The Agrians, supported by a body of
archers and cavalry, were so drawn up as to face the
enemy posted on the hill commanding the rear. But
as Alexander had determined to make the main attack
with his right wing, he made a trial of the gallantry
of these troops on the enemy's left, and ordered the
Agrians, the archers, and the before-mentioned cav-
alry, to charge them. But instead of waiting to re-
ceive the attack, the cowards, numerous as they we]
retired from the side to the summit of the hill. Sat-
isfied, therefore, that he had nothing to dread from
that quarter, Alexander incorporated the Agrians and
archers with the right wing, and left the 300 cavalry
to keep their opponents in check.

The infantry with which he proposed to support
7

98 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

the charge of the Companion cavalry were the guards
and the Agema, composed of the picked men of the
phalanx. The phalanx itself, consisting on the pres-
ent occasion of only five brigades, was drawn up to
face the Greeks. The two lines were now in sight of
each other, and the Persians remained motionless on
the high banks of the Pinarus. The Greek tacticians
had imputed the defeat on the Granicus to the false
position of the cavalry, and the want of a sufficient
number of Greek infantry. Here both mistakes were
avoided, and a Grecian force, which even Charidemus
had judged sufficient, brought into the field. They
were also admirably posted, as the banks of the Pin-
arus were in general precipitous, and intrenchments
had been thrown up where access appeared most easy.
]STo doubt can be entertained of the very critical situa-
tion in which Alexander was placed ; — all his com-
munications with his late conquests were cut off, and
he had no alternative between victory and starvation :
but he could rely upon his troops.

As the Macedonians were advancing slowly and in
excellent order, the king rode down the lines, exhort-
ing them all to be brave men, and addressing by
name, not only the generals but the captains of horse
and foot, and every man, Macedonian, confederate, or
mercenary, distinguished either for rank or merit.
His presence and short addresses were hailed with
universal acclamations, and urgent requests not to
lose time but to lead forwards.

As soon, therefore, as the line was within reach of
the Persian missiles, Alexander and the right wing

Mint. 23.] BATTLE OF ISSUS. 99

charged rapidly, crossed the Pinarus, and engaged
the enemy hand to hand. The clouds of missiles did
not interrupt their progress for a moment. The
Cardaces, panic-struck by the suddenness and energy
of the charge, fled almost without a blow ; but Darius,
who with the Kinsmen and the Immortals were sta-
tioned behind them, must have presented a vigorous
resistance, for a considerable time elapsed before
Alexander could turn his attention to the operations
of his centre and left.

In the mean time, the phalanx had not been so suc-
cessful. The broken ground, the river and its preci-
pitous banks, ill adapted for its operations, had been
ably turned to advantage by the Greeks. Yet the
contest had been desperate; on one side the Macedo-
nians exerted every nerve to support the reputation
of the phalanx, as being hitherto invincible, and the
Greeks, from a long existing spirit of jealousy, were
as anxious to break the charm ; but the victory indis-
putably had inclined in favor of the Greeks. They
had penetrated the phalanx in various parts, and had
slain Ptolemy, a general of brigade, with 120
Macedonians of rank, when Alexander, now com-
pletely victorious, attacked the Greeks in flank, and
instantly changed the face of affairs. The phalanx,
thus relieved from the immediate pressure, finally
contributed to the utter defeat of their opponents.

We hear nothing of the behavior of the Cardace
in the right wing, probably their conduct was equally
disgraceful with that of their countrymen on the
right. The behavior of the Persian cavalry was to-

100 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

tally different. They did not even wait to be attacked
on the right bank of the Pinarus, but crossed it and
engaged the Thessalian and confederate horse with
spirit and success. Parmenio, with all his skill, sup-
ported by the acknowledged gallantry of the Thes-
salian cavalry, had with difficulty maintained his
position, when the decisive information reached the
Persians that the king had fled. Then they also, act-
ing on a well-known Asiatic principle, joined him in
his flight. They were closely pursued by the Thes-
salians, who overtook many, as the Persian horses
were unable to move rapidly after the fatigues of the
day, under the heavy weight of their steel-clad riders.
Ten thousand Persian horsemen and 100,000 in-
fantry are said to have fallen in this battle. Perhaps
the statement is not exaggerated, for as the only
mode of regaining Syria was by the vale of the
Pinarus, thousands of the Persian infantry must
have been crushed beneath the horses' hoofs of their
own cavalry, which was the last body to quit the
field.

Alexander did not pursue until he witnessed the
repulse, or more properly speaking, the retreat of the
Persian cavalry. Then he attempted to overtake
Darius, who had fled in his chariot as long as the
ground would permit him ; on reaching rougher roads
he mounted a horse, and left his chariot, shield, bow,
and royal robe behind him, nor did he cease his flight
till he had placed the Euphrates between him and the
victor. We must charitably hope that he did not
finally despair of winning the field before it was too

JEtat. 23.] BATTLE OF ISSUS. 101

late to attempt to save his wife, son, and daughters.
The battle lasted long, for the Macedonians marched
from the gates at break of day, and night overtook
Alexander after a short pursuit, when he returned
and took possession of the Persian camp. Thus ter-
minated this great battle, contrary to the expectation
of all nations, who had universally regarded the con-
test as certain of terminating in the destruction of
the invader. The same feeling had partially pervaded
the Macedonian camp. Harpalus, Alexander's
youthful friend, whom as his constitution rendered
him incapable of military duties, he had appointed
his treasurer, fled into Greece a few days before the
battle, and carried with him the military chest and its
contents; and many of the confederates, among
whom Aristodemus the Pherrean and Brianor the
Acarnanian are mentioned by Arrian, deserted to the
Persians. Men could hardly be brought to imagine
that a force like that conducted by Darius could pos-
sibly experience a defeat. It is needless to mention
nations and multitudes, perhaps of no great service
in the day of battle, but there were five bodies of men
in the Persian army, which alone formed as formida-
ble an army as ever was brought to meet an enemy.
These were : —

The heavy armed Greeks 30,000

The Persian cavalry 30,000

The Immortals 10,000

The troops called the Poyal Kins-
men 15,000

The Cardaces 60,000

102 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

Hence it is manifest, that the Macedonians on this
day conquered not the Persians alone, but the united
efforts of Southern Greece and Persia. It is this
galling truth that, among other causes, rendered the
republican Greeks so hostile to Alexander. All the
active partizans of that faction were at Issus, nor
were the survivors dispirited by their defeat. Agis,
King of Sparta, gathered 8,000 who had returned to
Greece by various ways, and fought with them a
bloody battle against Antipater, who with difficulty
defeated them, the Spartans and their allies. With-
out taking these facts into consideration, it is impos-
sible duly to estimate the difficulties surmounted by
Alexander.*

According to Plutarch, the Macedonians had re-
served for the king the tent of Darius, with all its
Persian officers, furniture, and ornaments. As soon
as he had laid aside his armor, he said to his friends,
" Let us refresh ourselves after the fatigues of the

* Issus will easily rank as one of the great battles of the
world. The number of Macedonian troops was between 40.000
and 50,000, and of that number only 450 were slain. The
number of " effective " troops on the Persian side is given
above as 145,000 ; but the entire number engaged on the
Persian sida at Issus was 600,000, the whole Persian army
being 1,000,000. The number of Persians slain was 100,000.
The great disparity between the number killed on the victo-
rious and the defeated sides — more than two hundred to one —
was partly due to the fact that in these days a victory was
always followed by a massacre. The historical result of this
battle was that " it shut Asia in behind the mountains, and
prepared to make the Mediterranean a European sea." —
Benjamin Ide Wheeler,

Mt&t. 23.] THE WIFE AND MOTHER OF DARIUS. 103

day in the bath of Darius/' " Say rather," said one
of his friends, " in the bath of Alexander, for the
property of the vanquished is and should be called the
/ictor's." When he viewed the vials, ewers, caskets,
and other vases, curiously wrought in gold, inhaled
the fragrant perfumes, and saw the splendid furni-
ture of the spacious apartments, he turned to his
friends and said : " This, then, it seems, it was to be
a king." While seated at table, he was struck with
the loud wailings of women in his immediate vicinity.
On inquiring into the cause, he was informed that
the mother, queen, and daughters of Darius had rec-
ognized the royal chariot, shield, and robe, and were
lamenting his supposed death. Alexander immedi-
ately commissioned Leonnatus to inform the
mourners that Darius had escaped in safety; and to
add, that they were to retain their royal state, orna-
ments, and titles, that Alexander had no personal
animosity against Darius, and was only engaged in a
legitimate struggle for the empire of Asia.

The above account " (I quote Arrian's words)
is given by Aristobulus and Ptolemy. A report
also prevails, that Alexander, accompanied by no one
but Hephsestion, visited the princesses on the follow-
ing day, and that the queen-mother, not knowing
which was the king, as the dress and arms of the two
were the same, prostrated herself before Hephsestion,
as he was the taller. But when Hephsestion had
drawn back, and one of the attendants had pointed to
Alexander, as being the king, and the queen, confused
by her mistake, was retiring, Alexander told her there

104 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

had been no mistake, for his friend was also Alexan-
der. I have written this report not as true, nor yet
as altogether to be disbelieved. But if it be true, I
praise Alexander for his compassionate kindness to
the princesses, and the affection and respect shown
by him to his friend ; and if it be not true, I praise
him for his general character, which made writers
conclude, that such actions and speeches would, if
ascribed to Alexander, appear probable." In the
present case we must be content with the latter clause
of the eulogy, for long after this, Alexander, in a
letter quoted by Plutarch, writes, " For my part, I
have neither seen nor desired to see the wife of
Darius; so far from that, I have not suffered any
man to speak of her beauty before me."

On the following day, although he had received a
sword wound in the thigh, he visited the wounded,
and buried the dead with great magnificence. He
himself spoke their funeral oration. The soldiers
and officers who had principally distinguished them-
selves were publicly praised, and received honors and
rewards according to their rank. Among the Per-
sians slain were Arsames, Pheomithres, Atizyes, and
Sabaces, the satraps respectively of Cilicia, the
Greater Phrygia, Paphlagonia, and Egypt. These,
and others of high rank, were buried according to the
orders of Sysigambis, the mother of Darius.

Of the Greek mercenaries who fought in the battle,
4,000 accompanied Darius in his march to the Upper
Provinces, 8,000 under Amyntas, the son of An-
tiochus, reached Tripolis in Phoenicia. There they

iEtat. 23.] DEATH OF AMYNTAS. 105

embarked on board the fleet which had conveyed
many of them from the JEgesm. Amyntas then per-
suaded them to sail into Egypt and seize upon it,
vacant by the death of the satrap. On landing,
Amyntas first gave out that he came as the legitimate
successor of Sabaces, but unable to restrain his troops
from plundering and maltreating the natives, he was
soon discovered to be an impostor. A war then took
place, in which, after some successes, Amyntas fell.
Thus perished a Macedonian prince of considerable
talents, and who had distinguished himself by invet-
erate enmity against Alexander.

From Cilicia, Parmenio, at the head of the Thes-
salian cavalry, was sent to seize the treasures, equi-
page, and court of Darius at Damascus. This easy
service, accompanied with the probability of great
booty, was assigned to the Thessalians as a reward
for their exertions and sufferings in the late battle,
Alexander himself marched southward along the
coast. The island Aradus, with its dependencies on
the continent, was the first Phoenician state that sub-
mitted. The king was with the Persian fleet, but
the prince presented Alexander with a crown of gold,
and surrendered his father's possessions. Aradus
was then a maritime power of some consequence.
The city covered with its buildings the modern island
of Rouad. It possessed another town on the conti-
nent, by name Marathus. Here ambassadors from
Darius overtook Alexander, and as their proposals
and the answer of Alexander are highly interesting,
and illustrative both of the manners and diplomacy

108 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

pnte the sovereignty with me, do not fly, but stand
your ground, as I will march and attack you wher-
ever vou may be."

This certainly is not worded in the style of modern
dispatches : but were it made a model for drawing up
such papers, the art of diplomacy might be reduced
to very simple principles. There is no attempt to
delude, no wish to overreach, no desire to lull his an-
tagonist into a fatal security: but the final object in
view, and the resolution to attain it, are distinctly
mentioned, and the sword made the only arbiter of
the dispute.

The Persian court, with the treasures and the fami-
lies of the principal Persians, and the foreign ambas-
sadors, had been captured by Parmenio. The whole
body had moved eastward, but had been overtaken
through the activity of the Thessalians, or the treach-
ery of their own guides. The Thessalians reaped a
rich harvest of booty upon the occasion. Alexander
ordered Parmenio to conduct the whole convoy back
to Damascus, and to send the foreign ambassadors to
head-quarters. Among these were Theban, Athen-
ian, and Lacedaemonian envovs. Alexander ordered
the Thebans to be immediatelv set at libertv, as he
felt conscious that thev -were "justified in having: re-
course to any power likely to restore their country.
The Lacedaemonians, with whom he was virtually at

7 %j

war, were thrown into prison, but released after the
battle of Arbela. According to the law of Greece
the Athenian ambassadors were traitors ; and it is
difficult to say in what capacity they could appear at

Mtat 21.] MARCH TO BYBLUS. 109

the Persian court, with which, in their confederate
character, they were at open war. They, however,
were immediately set at large, principally, as Alexan-
der himself alleged, for the sake of their chief Iphi-
crates, the son of the protector of Eurydice and her
infant princes.

From Marathus Alexander marched to Byhlus, an
ancient town celebrated for the worship of Adonis.
The king was with the Persian fleet, but the inhab-
itants, like the Aradians, submitted.

The Sidonians did not wait to be summoned, but
eagerly availed themselves of the opportunity of shak-
ing off the Persian yoke. Twenty years had not
elapsed since Sidon had been captured by Ochus,
and burnt by the inhabitants in a fit of frenzy and
despair. Forty thousand Sidonians are stated to
have perished in the conflagration. If we can be-
lieve Diodorus, the conduct of Mentor the Bhodian,
on the occasion, was most execrable. He commanded
the auxiliaries in the Sidonian service, and betrayed
his employers into the hands of their tyrants.

Alexander was now in the centre of Phoenicia, the
cradle of Greek literature, and intimately connected
with the remote traditions of the earliest colonization
of Greece. With Phoenicia are connected the names
of Europa, Minos, and Phadamanthus, of Cadmus,
Semele, and Dionysus ; and not even Egypt had left
a deeper impress of her intellect and arts on the plas-
tic mind of Greece. But events unhappily occurred
which prevented Alexander from hailing her as the
mother of letters, commerce and civilization, and

110 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

caused the siege of Tyre to be the most mournful page
in his historv. While he still remained at Sidon,
a Tyrian deputation waited upon him, presented him
with the customary crown of gold, and expressed the
wish of the Tyrians to acknowledge his authority and
execute his commands. He dismissed the deputies
with honor, and announced to them his intention to
visit Tyre, and to offer sacrifices in the temple of
Hercules; " not the Grecian hero, his ancestor," says
Arrian, " but another Hercules, worshipped many
ages before him in a temple the oldest known on
earth." Selden, in his treatise concerning the Syrian
gods, has identified this Hercules with the Scripture
Moloch, on whose altars the Tyrians and their Car-
thaginian colonists used, on extraordinary occasions,
to offer human victims. It was consequently in the
temple of Moloch, " horrid king," that Alexander
wished to sacrifice, but certainly not with the im-
pious rites of his oriental worshippers.

The Tyrians, imagining it more easy to exclude
than to expel their royal visitor, refused Alexander
admission within their walls ; and, according to Cur-
tius, informed him that the original temple was still
standing in Old Tyre, where the god might be duly
honored.

On receiving this refusal, Alexander summoned a
general council of officers, and thus spoke : —

" Friends and Allies ! In my opinion we cannot
march safely into Egypt while the Persians are mas-
ters of the sea ; nor pursue Darius while, in our rear,
Tyre remains undecided in her policy, and Cyprus

-ffitat. 23.J SPEECH OF ALEXANDER. HI

and Egypt are in the power of the Persians. The
latter alternative is peculiarly hazardous, both for
other reasons and on account of the state of Greece:
for should we pursue Darius and march to Babylon,
I fear the Persians, taking advantage of our absence,
might re-capture the maritime cities, gather a power-
ful force, and transfer the war to Greece. The
Lacedaemonians are already our open enemies ; and
the Athenians are restrained more by their fears of
our arms than affection to our cause. But if we cap-
ture Tyre, and thus take possession of all Phoenicia,
the Phoenician fleet, the most numerous and efficient
part of the Persian navy, will most probably come
over to us: for when they hear that we are in pos-
session of their homes and families, the seamen and
naval combatants will not be likely to endure the
hardships of sea and war in behalf of strangers.
Should this be the result, Cyprus must either will-
ingly follow, or be invaded, and easily subdued.
When we sweep the seas with the united navies of
Phoenicia, Macedonia and Cyprus, our maritime su-
periority will be undisputed, and the expedition to
Egypt facilitated. Finally, by the conquest of
Egypt, all future alarms for the safety of Greece
and Macedonia will be removed, and we shall com-
mence our march to Babylon with a conscious feeling
of the security of our homes, and with additional
fame, from having deprived the Persians of al1 com-
munication with the sea, and of the provinces to the
west of the Euphrates." These arguments easily in-

112 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

duced the Macedonians and their allies to commence
the siege of Tyre.

The Tyrians, although not so early celebrated
either in sacred or profane histories, had yet attained
greater renown than their Sidonian kinsmen. It is
useless to conjecture at what period or under what
circumstances these eastern colonists had quitted the
shores of the Persian gulf, and fixed their seats on
the narrow belt between the mountains of Lebanon
and the sea. Probably at first they were only fac-
tories, established for connecting the trade between
the eastern and western world. If so, their origin
must be sought among the natives to the east of the
Assyrians, as that race of industrious cultivators pos-
sessed no shipping, and was hostile to commerce.
The colonists took root on this shore, became pros-
perous and wealthy, covered the Mediterranean with
their fleets, and its shores with their factories. Tyre
in the course of time became the dominant citv, and
under her supremacy were founded the Phoenician
colonies in Greece, Sicily, Africa, and Spain. The
wealth of her merchant princes had often tempted
the cupidity of the despots of Asia." Salmanassar,
the Assyrian conqueror of Israel, directed his attacks
against Tyre, and continued them for five years, but
was finally compelled to raise the siege. Nabucha-
donosor f was more persevering, and succeeded in
capturing the city, after a siege that lasted thirteen
years. The old town, situated on the continent, was

* Shalmaneser.

f Nebuchadnezzar, or Nebuchadrezzar. ,-

JEtat. 23.] ANCIENT TYRE. 113

never rebuilt; but a new Tyre rose from its ruins.
This occupied the area of a small island, described
by Pliny as two miles and a half in circumference.
On this confined space a large population existed, and
remedied the want of extent by raising story upon
story, on the plan followed by the ancient inhabitants
of Edinburgh. It was separated from the main
land by an armlet of the sea, about half a mile in
breadth and about eighteen feet deep. The city was
encircled by walls and fortifications of great strength
and height, and scarcely pregnable even if accessible.
The citizens were bold and skilful, and amply sup-
plied with arms, engines, and other warlike muni-
tions. Apparently no monarch ever undertook a
more hopeless task than the capture of Tyre, with the
means of offence possessed by Alexander. But no
difficulties could daunt him. Without a single ship,
and in the face of a formidable navy, he prepared to
take an island fortress with his land forces. His
plan was to construct a mound from the shore to the
city walls, erect his battering rams on the western
end, there effect a breach, and carry the town by
storm.

Materials were abundant; the whole shore was
strewed with the ruins of old Tyre ; and the activ-
ity of the leader was well seconded by the zeal of his
troops. The work advanced rapidly at first. The
waters were shallow, and the loose and sandy soil
easily allowed the piles to reach the more solid strata
below. But as the mole advanced into deeper water

the difficulties of the undertaking became more evi-
8

114 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

dent. The labor of construction was greater, the cur-
rents more rapid, the progress slower, and the annoy-
ance given by the enemy more effectual. Missiles,
discharged from the engines erected on the wall,
reached the work in front ; triremes, properly fitted
out, attacked it on both flanks. The men employed
found it difficult to carry on the labor, and at the
same time to defend themselves. Engines were there-
fore raised on the sides of the mounds, to resist the
triremes ; and two wooden towers were built at the
extreme end, in order to clear the city walls of their
defenders. These were hung in front with raw hides,
the best defence against the enemy's fire-darts.

To counteract these measures, the Tyrians con-
structed a fire ship, filled with the most combustible
materials, and towed it to the mound. They then laid
it alongside of the wooden towers, and there set fire
to it. When the flames had taken effect, a general
attack was made by the Tvrian fleet in front and on
both sides. The Macedonians, blinded by the smoke,
and enveloped in flames, could offer no effectual re-
sistance. The Tyrians ascended the mound, de-
stroyed the engines, and directed the progress of the
flames. Their success was complete, and in a few
hours the labors of the Macedonians were rendered
useless.

Alexander possessed perseverance as well as ar-
dency of character. He recommenced the construc-
tion of the mound on a larger scale, so as to admit
more ensines and a broader line of combatants. In
the interval he varied his labors by making a short

Mtat. 23.] SIEGE OF TYRE. 115

excursion against the robber tribes of Mount
Lebanon. This was not a service of great danger,
but the necessity of pursuing the robbers into the
recesses of their mountains, occasioned the following
adventure, which Plutarch has recorded upon the au-
thority of Chares.

Lysimachus, his preceptor in earlier days, had ac-
companied Alexander into Asia. Neither older nor
less valiant than Phoenix, he claimed a right to attend
his former pupil on all such expeditions. Night
overtook the party among the wilds of Anti-Libanus;
the rugged ground compelled them to quit their
horses, but the strength of the old man began rapidly
to sink under the united effects of age, fatigue, and
cold. Alexander would not forsake him, and had to
pass a dark and cold night in an exposed situation.
In this perplexity he observed at a distance a num-
ber of scattered fires which the enemy had lighted:
depending upon his swiftness and activity, he ran to
the nearest fire, killed two of the barbarians who
were watching it, seized a lighted brand, and has-
tened with it to his party. They soon kindled a large
fire, and passed the night in safety. In eleven daya
he received the submission of most of the mountain
chiefs, and then descended to Sidon.

Tie was convinced by this time that he could not
entertain any reasonable hope of taking Tyre without
the co-operation of a fleet. Winter had now set in,
and he had every reason to hope that the Phoenician
fleets would return, and as usual, spend that season
in their own harbors. He was not disappointed ; tha

116 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 333.

kings of Aradus, of Byblus, and Sidon, returned
home, and finding their cities occupied by Alexan-
der, placed their fleets at his disposal. A few ships
also joined from other harbors. Thus the king sud-
denly found himself master of more than a hundred
sail. This number was soon after more than doubled
by the junction of the kings of Cyprus, with a hun-
dred and twenty ships of war. These were Greeks,
but their seasonable arrival was too welcome to ad-
mit of reproaches for past misconduct; all was for-
gotten, and their present appointments confirmed.

CHAPTEE VII.

THIRD CAMPAIGN, B. C. 332.

The siege of Tyre occupied the first five months
of this year, supposing it to have commenced in No-
vember, B. C. 333, but if it did not commence till
December, the capture did not occur till the end of
June, 332. The Tyrians were surprised and dis-
mayed when Alexander came with his formidable
fleet in sight of their city. Their first impulse was
to draw out their vessels and give battle; but the
enemy's superiority disheartened them. Their next
care was to prevent their own fleet from being at-
tacked. To insure this they sunk as many triremes
in the mouths of their two harbors as would fill the
intervening space.

The island, now a peninsula, was in shape a paral-
lelogram, with its longest sides exposed to the north
and south ; the western end threw out a small pro-
montory to the north, and in the curve thus made
was the principal harbor, secured by strong piers, and
a narrow entrance; off this Alexander stationed the
Cyprian fleet, with orders to keep it closely blockaded.
In rough weather the fleet could take refuge in the
northern angle, between the mound and the shore.
The opposite side was occupied by the Phoenician

117

118 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

fleet, which thence "watched the southern harbor.
This was the only use derived from the mound, as the
city walls in front of it were 150 feet high, and of
proportional solidity. Had not this wall defied the
battering ram, the Tyrians had ample time and room
to triple and quadruple their defences on that single
point. It does not appear, however, that the mound
ever reached the walls, or that an assault was made
from that quarter. The camp was now filled with
smiths, carpenters, and engineers, from Khodes and
Cyprus, who constructed huge rafts, on which bat-
tering rams and other engines were erected, and ex-
posed the whole circumference of the walls to at-
tack.

But it was found that these enormous masses could
not approach close enough to allow the engines to be
plied with effect, as the outermost foundations of the
wall were protected by a breastwork of huge stones,
placed there to break the violence of the waves. The
Macedonians, therefore, with great labor and loss of
time, had to remove these unwieldv obstacles and to
clear the ground. The vessels employed in this serv-
ice experienced every species of active annoyance
from the Tyrians. Small boats with strong decks
slipped under their sterns, and cutting their cables,
sent them adrift. And when Alexander had pro-
tected his working vessels with a line of boats simi-
larlv decked, the Tvrian clivers eluded their vili°;ance
and cut the cables close to their anchors. Chain
cables were finally substituted, and the work pro-
ceeded. Eopes were fastened to immense masses,

JEtat. 24.] SIEGE OF TYRE. 119

and they were drawn to the mound and sunk in deep
water between its western end and the wall. It was
probably these stones that, in aftertimes, converted
the island into a peninsula.

At this period the Tyrians made an attempt to
regain their naval superiority. They secretly pre-
pared three quinqueremes, three quadriremes, and
seven triremes ; these they manned with their most
skilful and active sailors, and with their best armed
and boldest warriors. The intention was to suprise
the Cyprian fleet ; the time chosen mid-day, — when
the sailors usually went ashore, and the watches re-
laxed their vigilance. Then the Tyrian ships quietly
glided one by one from the inner harbor, formed their
line in silence, and as soon as they came in sight of
the Cyprians, gave a gallant cheer and plied every
oar with zeal and effect. The first shock sent down
three quinqueremes, and in one of them, Pnytagoras,
a Cyprian king; the rest, partly empty and partly
half manned, were driven ashore, where the victors
prepared to destroy them.

Alexander's tent was pitched on the shore not far
from the station of the Phoenician fleet. He, like the
rest, probably in consequence of the heat, used to re-
tire to his tent at noon. On this day his stay had
been much shorter than usual, and he had already
joined the Phoenician fleet, when the alarm was given
of the Tyrian sally. The crews were instantly hur-
ried on board, the greater number ordered to sta-
tion themselves off the southern harbor, to prevent
another sally from that quarter, while he, with all the

120 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

quinqueremes and five triremes, moved round the
western end of the island as rapidly as the crews
could row.*

The Tyrians, who from the walls viewed this
movement, and recognized Alexander by his dress
and arms, saw that if he succeeded in doubling the
point and gaining the entrance into the northern har-
bor before their ships returned, their retreat must
inevitably be cut off. One universal cry was there-
fore raised, and ten thousand voices called upon the
detached party to return ; and when the combatants,
in the moment of their triumph, disregarded sounds
easily to be mistaken for cheers of applause and en-
couragement, signals were displayed on every con-
spicuous point. These were at length observed, but
too late for the safety of the ships. A few regained
the harbor, the greater number were disabled, and a
quinquereme and the three quadriremes were taken
without being damaged. The crews abandoned them
and swam to the shore. The loss of lives was, there-
fore, trifling.

The attempts to batter down the walls were no
longer liable to be interrupted by the Tyrian navy,
but great difficulties still remained ; for the besieged,
from their commanding position on the walls, could
seriously annoy the men who worked the engines.
Some they caught with grappling-hooks, and dragged
within the walls; others they crushed with large

* The distance around the western end of the island to the
mouth of the harbor was about two miles and a half, and this
could be covered in fifteen minutes.

Mia*. 34.] SIEGE OF TYRE. 121

stones or pierced with engine darts. They also threw
hot sand on their nearer assailants; this penetrated
the chinks of their armor, and rendered the wearer
frantic with pain. Diodorus adds, and he could not
have invented the tale, that from their fire-casting
engines they threw red-hot iron balls among the dense
masses of the besiegers, and seldom missed their*
aim.

The attack on the eastern and western sides had
already failed, when a more vulnerable part was
found in the southern wall ; a small breach was there
made, and a slight assault by way of trial given. The
ensuing day was devoted to preparations for the final
effort ; every ship was put in requisition and fur-
nished with missiles, its proper place assigned, and
orders given to attack at the preconcerted signal.

The third day was calm and favorable for the in-
tended assault : two rafts, carrying the most power-
ful engines and battering rams, were towed opposite
the vulnerable spot, and soon broke down a consider-
able portion of the wall. When the breach was pro-
nounced practicable the rafts were withdrawn, and
two ships of war, furnished with moveable bridges,
brought up in their place. The first was manned
by the guards, commanded by Admetus ; the second,
by the Companion infantry, commanded by Coenus;
Alexander was with the guards. The ships were
brought close to the wall, the bridges successfully
thrown across, and Admetus, at the head of the for-
lorn hope, scaled the breach, and was the first to
mount the wall; in the next moment he was pierced

122 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 832.

by a lance and died on the spot; but Alexander and
his friends were close behind, and made their ground
good. As soon as some turrets with the intervening
wall had been secured, the king advanced along the
battlements in the direction of the palace, where the
descent into the city seemed easiest.

In the meantime the fleets had made two success-
ful attacks from opposite quarters ; the Cyprians had
forced their way into the northern, and the Phoeni-
cians into the southern harbor. The crews landed on
the quays, and the city was taken on all sides. Little
mercy was shown, as the Macedonians had been ex-
asperated by numerous insults, by the length and ob-
stinacy of the defence, and the serious loss they had
suffered ; for more men were slain in winning Tyre,
than in achieving the three great victories over
Darius. The Tvrians also had, in the time of their
naval superiority and of their confidence, cruelly vio-
lated the laws of war. A vessel, manned bv Mace-
donians, had been captured and taken into Tyre.
The crew were brought upon the walls, slaughtered
in cold blood, and thrown into the sea, before the eyes
of their indignant countrvmen.

In revenge, eight thousand Tyrians fell by the
sword when the citv was stormed, and thirty thou-
sand were sold as slaves.* The king, the magis-
trates, and the principal citizens, had taken refuge in
the temple of Hercules, or, more properly speaking,
of Moloch. These all received pardon and liberty.

* The population of Tyre could hardly have been more than
75,000. This vengeance was therefore extremely severe.

JKt&t. 24.] FATE OF TYRE. 123

It is to be hoped that superstition alone did net cause
this distinction; and that the authorities proved that
the law of nations had been violated not under their
sanction, but by the excesses of a lawless mob. Tyre
had not tyrannically abused her supremacy over the
other Phoenician states, and they actively interfered
in behalf of her children in the day of distress. The
Sidonians alone saved fifteen thousand from the vic-
tor's wrath ; nor is it probable that any captives were
carried out of Phoenicia.

The capture of Tyre was, perhaps, the greatest mil-
itary achievement of Alexander; and had he spared
the citizens when he had won their city, it would be
a pleasing task to dwell upon the spirit, vigilance,
self-resources, perseverance, and contempt of death,
displayed by him during his arduous enterprise.
But his merciless consignment of the wives and chil-
dren of the merchant-princes of the eastern world to
a state of slavery, and to be scattered in bondage
among barbarian masters, sadly dims the splendor of
the exploit, and leaves us only to lament that he did
not act in a manner more worthy of himself and of
the dignity of the captured city. It is no excuse to
allege in his behalf, that it was done in accordance
with the spirit of his age ; for Alexander, in feelings,
in natural talents, and by education, was far beyond
his contemporaries, and his lofty character subjects
him to be tried by his peers, according to the general
laws of humanity.

A curious anecdote connected with the siege, and
illustrative of ancient manners and superstitions, is

124r ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

recorded by historians. The Carthaginians, in one
of their campaigns against the Sicilian Greeks, had
seized and carried away a valuable statue of the
Grecian Apollo. This god of the vanquished had
been selected as a gift worthy of the acceptance of
the mother city, and had been placed at the footstool
of Moloch in his Tyrian temple. The Grecian god,
in this state of degradation, was naturally suspected
of rejoicing at the approach of his countrymen ; and
the morbid feelings of some Tvrians deluded them
so far, as to lead them to imagine that he had ap-
peared to them in their sleep, and announced his in-
tention to desert. The case was brought before the
magistrates, who could not discover a more effectual
mode of allaying the popular apprehensions than by
binding the disaffected statue, with golden chains, to
the horns of Moloch's altar. The Tyrian's patriot-
ism was not doubted. To his custody, therefore, his
fellow god was consigned.

One of Alexander's first cares, on entering the tem-
ple, was with clue ceremony to release the statue from
its chains, and to give it the new name of Phil-Alex-
ander.

The sacrifice to Hercules, the ostensible cause of
the war, was celebrated with due pomp; and the ves-
sels sailed, and the troops inarched, in solemn pro-
cession. The usual festivities followed, accompanied
by gymnastic contests, and the whole was closed by
the favorite lamp race.* The quinquereme, which he

* It will be observed that, ordinarily, victories in the Asiatic
campaigns of Alexander, were followed by festivities and

JEtat. 24.] FESTIVITIES AND SPORTS. 125

had himself taken, the sole trophy of his naval wars,
was dedicated with an inscription in the temple of

games. The festivities of course consisted chiefly of eating
and drinking, particularly the latter. The games were of a
sort that would now be called an athletic field day, but they
had all the patriotic and religious associations of having come
down from the heroic meets at Olympia. The chief of these
games were : —

(1) The foot race, from the 200 yards dash to the long run
of more than three miles. Sometimes races were run in
heavy armor.

(2) The horse race.

(3) The chariot races. These varied somewhat by the
number of the horses attached to the chariot. The chief test
of these races was getting safely past the turning point, the
goal or pillar round which the vehicles must be turned, as
they traversed the course many times in each race. The very
horses learned to dread this critical point at which so many
chariots were wrecked and their drivers injured or killed.

(4) Wrestling.

(5) Boxing.

(6) A combination of five games called the pentathlon,
the chief of which seems to have been the long jump.

(7) One of the most popular with the army of Alexander
was the lamp race. This was contested between rival teams,
or combinations of players. The lamp for this race was a
candlestick with a shield placed at the bottom of the socket so
as to shelter the flame. The lighted lamp was carried from the
starting point to a certain distance by the first runner, who
delivered it to the second, and he to his successor, and so on
through the entire team. This race frequently took place by
night. The contestants sometimes raced on foot, sometimes
on horseback. Of course the lamp was to be delivered at the
end of the course unextinguished.

(8) There were also dramas, poems, and music. Probably
other sports were added, as is usual in the jubilation by which
victors are wont to celebrate any kind of a triumph.

126 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

Hercules. So also was the battering-ram with which
the walls had been first shaken. Its beam probably
was formed of the trunk of one of the magnificent
cedars of Lebanon.

" Arrian (says Mitford) relates, as a report gen-
erally received, and to which he gave credit, that,
soon after the battle of Issus, a confidential eunuch,
a principal attendant of the captive queen of Persia,
found means to go to her unfortunate husband. On
first sight of him, Darius hastily asked, if his wife
and children were living. The eunuch assuring him,
that not only all were well, but all treated with re-
spect as royal personages, equally as before their
captivit}r, the monarch's apprehension changed.
The queen was generally said to be the most beauti-
ful woman in the Persian empire. How, in the
usual concealment of the persons of women of rank
throughout the eastern nations, hardly less in ancient
than in modern days, this could be done, unless from
report of the eunuchs of the palace, Arrian has not
said ; but his account rather implies that her face had
been seen by some of the Grecian officers. Darius's
next question, however, was said to be, Was his
queen's honor tarnished, either through her own
weakness, or by any violence ? The eunuch protest-
ing with solemn oaths that she was as pure as when
she parted from Darius, and adding that Alexander
was the best and most honorable of men, Darius
raised his hands towards heaven and exclaimed, ' O,
Great God, who disposest of the affairs of kings
among men, preserve to raa the empire of the Per-

Mta.t. 24.] PROPOSAL OF DARIUS. 127

sians and Medes, as thou gavest it ; but if it be thy
will that I am no longer to be king of Asia, lot Alex-
ander, in preference to all others, succeed to my
power.' The historian then adds his own remark,
' so does honorable conduct win the regard even of
enemies.'

" This, which Arrian has judged not unworthy of
a place in his Military History of Alexander, is ob-
viously not, like numberless stories of private con-
versations related by Diodorus, and Plutarch, and
Curtius, and others, what none who were likely to
know would be likely to tell; but, on the contrary,
what no way requiring concealment, the eunuch
would be rather forward to relate: so that, not im-
probably many Greeks, and among them some ac-
quainted with his character, and able to estimate his
veracity, might have had it from himself."

I have transcribed the above anecdote from Mit-
ford, and added his judicious observations ; and I re-
gard the second embassy from Darius as the effect
of the impression made upon his mind by the
eunuch's communication. It arrived in the camp
before the fall of Tyre. The ambassadors were em-
powered to offer, on the part of Darius, ten thousand
talents as the ransom of his family, one of his
daughters in marriage, and, as her portion, all Asia
to the west of the Euphrates.

These proposals were as usual submitted to the con- •
sideration of the Macedonian council, and Parmenio
unhesitatingly said, "Were I Alexander, I would
conclude the war on these terms, and incur no further

128 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

risk." " So would I, (said the King,) were I Par-
menio, but as I am Alexander, another answer must
be returned." This, in the direct form, was to the
following purpose :

" I want no money from you, nor will I receive
a part of the empire for the whole ; for Asia and all
its treasures belong to me. If I wished to marry
your daughter, I can do it, without asking your con^
sent. If you wish to obtain any favor from me,
come in person and ask for it."

This answer convinced Darius that negotiations
were useless. He, therefore, renewed his prepara-
tions for another struggle. The siege of Tyre had
lasted seven months, but no attempt to relieve it had
been made from any quarter. It is difficult to say
what prevented the Carthaginians from aiding the
mother city, which, with their maritime superiority,
they could so effectually have done. Rumors of
civil dissensions and wars in their own territories
have been alleged, but history fails us as to particu-
lars. Carthaginian ambassadors were found in
Tyre, but they do not seem to have interfered between
the belligerents.

Palestine, with the adjoining districts, submitted
to the conqueror. The patrimony of David and the
city of Goliah equally acknowledged his sovereignty,*
and Ace, Ashdod, and Ascalon, neither lifted a spear

* David's birthplace was Bethlehem, though his capital,
Jerusalem, came to be known by his name. Goliath was of
the city of Gath, situated nearly west of Jerusalem, about
fifteen miles from the sea coast.

iEtat. 24.] SIEGE OF GAZA. 129

nor drew a sword. Gaza alone, under the govern-
ment of Batis, an eunuch, dared to resist, and remain
faithful to its king amidst the general defection.
The city was built on a mound, and situated on the
edge of the desert that separates Egypt from Syria.
The fortifications were good, and the vicinity fur-
nished no materials for the construction of works.
Batis took into pay a body of Arabs from the desert,
on whose ferocity, if not skill, he could depend.

Alexander threw up a mound against the southern
side of the city, on this he mounted part of the en-
gines and battering rams with which Tyre had been
overthrown. But the labor was great, as the sandy
soil gave way under the works, and there was no tim-
ber to be procured. The city walls encircled the
outer edge of the mound before described. Hence
thev were liable to be undermined, and the miners
wrere set to work.

As Alexander was one day sacrificing with the
sacred wreath round his brows, and was cutting the
hair off the victim's forehead, one of those carnivor-
ous birds, which in eastern cities are half tame, and
were then probably well acquainted with the nature
of a sacrifice, happened to hover above the king's
head, and drop a small stone upon his shoulder. The
omen was judged important, and, according to Aris-
tander, foreboded the eventual capture of the city,
but personal danger to the king, if he exposed him-
self during that day.

In obedience to the warning, the king retired be-
yond the reach of missiles. But the besieged sallied
9

130 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

at the moment, and were preparing to burn the en-
gines. Alexander, thereupon, either forgot, or de-
spised, the caution, and hurried forward to repel the
assailants. He succeeded, but was struck by an ar-
row discharged from a catapult ; it penetrated his
shield and breast-plate, and sunk deep into his shoul-
der.

His first feeling on receiving the wound was joy,
as it implied the veracity of Aristander, and the
consequent capture of the town. But the wound was
severe and painful, and was not easily healed. Soon
after, the wall was battered down and undermined
in various places, and an assault given. The breaches
still required scaling ladders, but the emulation of
the Macedonians was great, and the place was carried
by storm. The first to enter the city was Neopto-
lemus, one of the Companions and an iEacides. The
garrison refused quarter, fought to the last, and were
all put to the sword.

Gaza possessed a good harbor, and was a consid-
erable emporium for the productions of Arabia.
Among the booty, great stores of frankincense, myrrh,
and other aromatics, fell into the conqueror's hands.
The sight of these brought an anecdote of his boyish
days to the recollection of Alexander. Leonnatus,
his governor, had one day, observing him at a sacrifice
throwing incense into the fire by handfuls, thus ad-
monished him, " Alexander, when you have con-
quered the country where spices grow, you may be
thus liberal of your incense ; in the meantime use
what you have more sparingly." He now sent his

JEtsit. 24.] VISIT TO JERUSALEM. 131

governor large bales of spices, and added the follow-
ing note. " Leonnatus, I have sent you frankin-
cense and myrrh in abundance, so be no longer a churl
to the gods."

Here also he found many of the specimens of the
arts and productions of the east. He selected some
of these as presents for Olympias, and his favorite
sister, Cleopatra, the Queen of Epirus.

According to Josephus, Alexander marched, with
hostile intentions, from Gaza to Jerusalem, nor did
he invent the account, as it is also given in the Book
of Maccabees. The question, as to the truth of the
statement, has been debated with more virulence than
the case required. The description given by
Josephus is highly wrought — and interesting, as giv-
ing a vivid picture of Jewish habits. " Alexander,
(writes he,) having destroyed Gaza, hastened to as-
cend to Jerusalem. Jaddeus, the high priest, learn-
ing this, was alarmed and terrified, as he knew not
how to meet the Macedonian king, irritated by his
former disobedience. He, therefore, ordered the peo-
ple to make their supplications, and sacrificing to
God, besought him to protect the nation and deliver
it from the impending danger. God appeared to him
in a vision, as he was sleeping after the sacrifice, and
told him to be of good cheer, to crown the city with
garlands, to throw open the gates, to go forth to meet
the Macedonians, with all the priests in their sacer-
dotal robes, and with the people in white garments,
and not to fear, as God would provide for their
defence.

132 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

" Jaddeus rose from sleep, and rejoicing in spirit,
communicated the divine message to the people. He
then performed all that he was commanded to do, and
awaited the arrival of the king.

" On learning his approach to the city, he went
forth attended by the priests and people, so as to give
the procession a sacred character, distinct from the
habits of other nations. The spot where the meet-
ing took place was at Sapha, or The Watchtower, so
called because Jerusalem and the Temple are thence
visible. But the Phoenicians and Chaldseans, who
followed the king, and expected him in his anger to
allow them to plunder the city and put the high priest
to death with every species of torture, witnessed a far
different scene.

" For when Alexander from a distance saw the
multitude in white garments, and the priests in front
with their variegated robes of fine linen, and the
chief priest in his hyacinthine dress embroidered
with gold, and bearing on his head the cidaris, with
its golden diadem, on which was inscribed the name
of God ; he advanced alone, prostrated himself before
the holy name, and was the first to salute the high
priest. But when the Jews with one voice had sa-
luted and encircled the king, the Syrian kings and
the rest of his retinue began to doubt the soundness
of his intellects. Parmenio then ventured to draw
near and ask ' Why he, before whom all prostrated
themselves, paid that honor to the high priest of the
Jews ? ' he answered, ' I did not prostrate myself be-
fore him, but before the God with whose priesthood

-ffitat. 24.] VISIT TO JERUSALEM. 133

he has been honored. For while I was as yet at
Dium, in Macedonia, I saw him in the same dress
in my dreams. And as I was deliberating in what
manner I should conquer Asia, he exhorted me not
to hesitate, but to cross over with confidence, as he
would be a guide to the expedition and deliver the
Persian empire into my hands. As, therefore, I
have seen no other in a similar dress, as this spectacle
reminds me of the vision in my sleep, and of the ex-
hortation, I conclude that my expedition was under-
taken under Divine Providence, that I shall conquer
Darius, put an end to Persian domination, and suc-
ceed in all my plans.'

" After this explanation, Alexander took the high
priest by the right hand and entered the city, while
the priests ran along on both sides. He then went
up to the temple and sacrificed to God according to
the directions of the high priest, and highly honored
both him and the other priests. Then the Book of
Daniel, and the prediction that a Greek was destined
to overthrow the Persian empire, were shown to him.
Prom it he concluded that he was the person signi-
fied, and being much delighted, dismissed the multi-
tude."

Thus Josephus : — it might easily be shown that the
time fixed by him is a mistake, but of the occurrence
of the visit there can be entertained no rational doubt.
The behavior of Alexander is the same as in all other
similar cases, and according to his maxim — u to pay
the highest reverence to the priesthood of every coun-
try, and to invoke the gods of every nation." It is

134 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

also incredible that Alexander, who was detained nine-
months on the sea coast, and whose curiosity as a
traveller was equal to his ambition as a warrior, did
not visit a city of the importance and magnitude of
Jerusalem, and a temple and priesthood, the fame
of which wTas great, at least on the adjacent coast.
But when we have the direct testimony of the people
most concerned, that he did not in this instance act
contrary to his usual habits, it is too much to call
upon us to disbelieve the positive testimony, merely
because other writers have omitted to notice the oc-
currence.

Perhaps the only stain on the character of
Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, is his cruelty to the Jews,
and if, in oppressing them, he was guilty of violating
the privileges conferred upon them by Alexander,
we have a sufficient reason why he passed over the
circumstance in silence. That such was the case may
almost positively be inferred from the fact stated by
Curtius, that while Alexander was in Egypt, the
Samaritans revolted and put the Macedonian gov-
ernor to a cruel death. For this conduct thev could
have no other cause than the superior favor shown to
their enemies the Jews ; for before they had been the
first to acknowledge the power of Alexander.

We read in ancient and modern historians of the
difficulties to be encountered by armies in marching
across the desert from Gaza to Pelusium, and of the
great preparations necessary for such a hazardous en-
terprise ; but Alexander encountered no similar diffi-
culties, and his army passed in safety between the

JEtat. 24.] MARCH INTO EGYPT. 135

" Sirbonian Bog " and " Mount Casius old," without
suffering from thirst or being swallowed in quick-
sands. At Pelusium, which he reached in seven
days, he found Hephsestion, who had conducted the
fleet from Phoenicia.

One hundred and ninety-four years had elapsed
since the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses, but the
Egyptians had never been willing slaves to their mas-
ters. Their revolts had been numerous, bloody, and
even successful. After enjoying a turbulent inde-
pendence for more than sixty years, they had been
reunited to the empire by the late king Ochus, aided
by a large Greek force. But their wounds were still
green ; and hatred against Persia was as strong a mo-
tive to revolution, as affection to Macedonia could
have been. Sabaces, the satrap, with all the disposa-
ble troops, had fallen at Issus. His lieutenant, Ma-
zaces, was powerless, and in the hands of the natives.
He, therefore, made a grace of necessity, and at-
tempted no resistance. Thus Alexander took quiet
possession of this most ancient and once powerful
kingdom, without throwing up a mound or casting a
spear.

From Pelusium he advanced up the country along
the eastern branch of the ]N"ile, and first visited Helio-
polis, and then Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt.
Here he remained for some time, and according to his
usual policy offered sacrifices to the Egyptian gods.
Even Apis was duly honored, and an effectual pledge
thus given to the natives, that thenceforward their
superstitions were to be respected. Public games

136 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

and festivals followed; and competitors in athletic
contests, in music, and poetry, flocked from the re-
motest parts of Greece, to contend for the prize of
excellence before a Macedonian monarch, seated on
the throne of Sesostris.

At Memphis, he embarked upon the Nile, and
sailed down the Canopic branch. From it he passed
into the Mareotic lake, where he was struck with the
advantages of the site on which Alexandria was after-
wards built. The lake Mareotis was then separated
from the sea by a solid isthmus, broadest in the cen-
tre, and narrower at both ends. In front was the
island of Pharus, which offered a natural protection
for vessels, between itself and the isthmus. The ad-
vantages of the situation were so striking, that the
ancient Egyptians had posted a body of troops on the
isthmus in order to prevent merchants, whom they
held in abhorrence, from frequenting the road.
Around this military post a small town calledHha-
cotis had grown, but before Alexander's visit it was
fallen into decay.

The disciple of Aristotle was not ignorant that
there was no safe harbor at any of the numerous
mouths of the Nile, and that the navigation along the
shallow and dangerous coast was consequently much
impeded. He was struck with the capabilities of the
spot on which he stood, nor did he rest until the skil-
ful engineers, by whom he was always attended, had
drawn the ground-plan of the future queen of the
East. So eager was the king to witness the apparent
result of their plans, that for want of better.

JEtat. 24.] FOUNDATION OF ALEXANDRIA. 137

materials the different lines were marked out with
flour taken from the provision-stores of the army.
These lines were soon effaced by the clouds of water
fowl which rose from the bosom of the lake and de-
voured the flour. Aristander being consulted on the
occasion, foretold from this very natural phenome-
non, that it would be a mighty city, abundantly sup-
plied with the necessaries of life.

During his visit to Ephesus, Alexander had ob-
served and admired the taste displayed by Dino-
crates, the architect, in rebuilding the temple of
Ephesus. Erom that moment he engaged him in his
service, and to him was now committed the work of
planning and superintending the erection of the fu-
ture capital of Egypt. Ample funds were placed at
his command, and a great city started into mature
existence on the borders of the Libyan desert, without
struggling through the previous stages of infancy and
childhood.

Here he was visited by Hegelochus, his admiral
in the ^Egean, who came to announce the dissolution
of the Persian fleet, the recovery of Tenedos, Lesbos
and Chios, and the capture of the Persian leaders.
This result naturally followed the defection of the
Phoenician fleets, and gave the empire of the sea to
the Macedonians. Carthage, which alone could have
disputed it, shrunk from the competition, and re-
mained motionless in the west.

His next adventure, for his actions resemble more
the wildness of romance than the soberness of history,
was the visit to the Ammonian Oasis. Perseus, in

138 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

his expedition against Medusa and her fabled sisters,
and Hercules after the victory over Busiris, were
said to have consulted this Libyan oracle. These
were heroes whom he was anxious to rival, and from
whom he could trace his descent. He, therefore, de-
termined to enter the western desert, and, like his
great ancestors, inquire into the future at the shrine
of Jupiter Amnion.

The fate of the army of Cambyses, which had per-
ished in the attempt to reach the temple, buried, as
tradition reported, beneath a tempest of moving sand,
could not deter Alexander. Cambyses was the con-
temner of religion, the violator of the gods of Egypt.
The devoted troops sought the holy shrine for the ac-
knowledged purpose of pollution and destruction.
But their guides through the desert must have been
natives. Many of these, in a case where their re-
ligion was so deeply concerned, might be found will-
ing to conduct the infidels into pathless wilds, and to
purchase the safety of the sanctuary at the expense
cf their own lives. Besides, all the warriors of
Egypt had not fallen in one battle, and the islands of
the desert would be the natural refuge of the boldest
and noblest of the band. Probably, therefore, hu-
man agency, as well as physical causes, combined in
preventing the return of a single messenger, to an-
nounce the fate of sixty thousand men.

Alexander, on the contrary, was hailed as the de-
liverer of Egypt, who honored the gods whom the
Persian insulted, and who sought the temple in order

Mt&t. 24.] THE TEMPLE OF AMMON. 139

to consult the deity, and thus add to the celebrity of
the oracle.

Escorted by a small and select detachment, he set
out from Alexandria, and marched along the sea-
shore until he arrived at Parsetonium. Here he sup-
plied the troops with water, turned to the south, and
in eleven days arrived at the Ammonian Oasis.

The Macedonians were prepared to expect miracles
on this expedition, and certainly, according to their
own account, were not disappointed. When threat-
ened with thirst, they were relieved by sudden and
copious showers of rain, and when a south wind, the
terror of the wanderer in the deserts of northern
Africa, had arisen, and obliterated all traces of the
paths, and the very guides confessed their ignorance
of the right way, two ravens appeared to the bewil-
dered party, and guided them in safety to the temple.
This, perhaps, admits of an explanation ; for a raven
in the desert would towards nightfall naturally wing
its way to its accustomed roosting place. But what
can be said for Ptolemy, who writes that two large
serpents, uttering distinct sounds, conducted them
both to and from the temple ? Is it to be supposed,
that the sovereign of Egypt, drawing great sums from
the consulters of the oracle, was guilty of a pious
fraud, for the sake of raising its fame, and multiply-
ing its votaries ? If this cannot be admitted, we
must have recourse to the mystic theories of Bryant,*
according to whom both the Eavens and the Serpents

* Jacob Byrant (1715-1804), an English author who wrote
voluminously on antiquarian subjects.

i
i

140 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

were only the symbolical names of Egyptian priests.

Later writers pretend to give in detail conversa-
tions supposed to have taken place between the king
and the priests, and the royal questions and the di-
vine answers. But they are proved guilty of false-
hood by the testimony of the original historians, who
agree in stating that Alexander alone was admitted
into the innermost shrine, and that when he came out
he merely informed his followers that the answers
had been agreeable to him.

He much admired the beauty of this insulated
spot, surrounded by a trackless ocean of sand, and not
exceeding six miles in diameter either way. It was
covered witk olives, laurels, and shady groves of palm
trees, and irrigated by innumerable bubbling springs,
each the centre of a little paradise, fertilized by itself.
In the middle stood the palace of the chief, inclosing
within its buildings the residence of the god. At
some distance was another temple, and the celebrated
springs which cooled with the ascending and warmed
with the departing sun, were at midnight hot, and
icy-cold at noon. Imagination aided the Macedonians
in verifying this natural miracle, although probably
the change of temperature belonged to the judges
rather than to the waters.

According to Ptolemy, he returned across the des-
ert to Memphis. Here he was welcomed by the
deputies of numerous Greek states, who all succeeded
in the various objects of their mission. He also re-
newed with great splendor the feasts, games, and
spectacles, and offered a public sacrifice to the Olym-

JEta,t. 24] GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT. 141

pian Jove. Nor did these festivities interfere with
his active duties, for during his stay at Memphis he
settled the future civil and military government of
Egypt. Doloaspis, a native, was appointed governor
of the central part ; Apollonius of the side bordering
on Libya; Cleomenes of the vicinity of Arabia.
These two were ordered not to interfere with the
duties of the local magistrates, to allow them to ad-
minister justice according to the ancient laws of the
country, and to hold them responsible for the collec-
tion of the public revenues. Memphis and Pelusium
were occupied by strong Macedonian garrisons, the
rest of the country was guarded by Greek merce-
naries. The army was supported by a fleet, but the
commanders in chief by sea and by land were inde-
pendent of each other. Arrian says, " He thus di-
vided the government of Egypt among many, from
being struck with the natural defences of the coun-
try, so that it did not appear safe to commit the en-
tire command to one man ; — and the Romans —
taught, as I think, by the example of Alexander, to
be on their guard with respect to Egypt — never ap-
pointed its proconsul from the senatorian, but from
the equestrian rank."

The history of Egypt, for the last twelve hundred
years, is the best commentary upon the policy of
Alexander and the observations of Arrian ; for, dur-
ing that period, it has been either an independent
government, or held by rulers whose subjection has
been merely nominal.

Alexander was desirous of visiting Upper Egypt,

142 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 332.

of viewing the magnificent ruins of the hundred-
gated Thebes, and the supposed palaces of Tithonus
and Memnon. But Darius was still formidable, and
the remotest provinces of the East were arming in his
defence. The king, therefore, reluctantly postponed
his examination of the antiquities on the banks of the
Nile, and directed his march to Syria.

CHAPTEK VIII.

FOURTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 331.

With the spring the army moved from Memphis,
and arrived a second time at Tyre, where Alexander
received numerous communications from Greece, con-
cerning the operations of Agis, king of Sparta. The
Lacedemonians had not concurred in the general
vote of the confederates, according to which Alexan-
der had been appointed captain-general. They were
consequently justified in attempting to dissolve the
confederacy, as the confederates were justified in
compelling them to submit to the general decision.
But both Philip and Alexander had avoided war
with them, and now they, unable to remain passive
any longer, took up arms, and invited the southern
Greeks to form a new confederacy under their ancient
leaders of Sparta. Darius had supplied them with
money, which they employed in bribing the chief
magistrates of the republics, and in hiring mercenary
soldiers. The Arcadians, Eleians, and Acha?ans,
joined them ; some of the mountain tribes in Thes-
saly excited disturbances ; and had Athens acceded,
all Greece, with the exception of Argos and Messenia,
would apparently have disclaimed the Macedonian
supremacy.

143

144 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

But Athens, if deprived of the leading place, cared
little whether it belonged to Sparta or Macedonia,
and we have the positive testimony of ^Eschines, that
Demosthenes remained inactive at this critical period.
The great patriot went still further, for when the
Athenians had sent ambassadors in the public ship
Paralus, to wait on Alexander at Tyre, these Para-
lians, as ^Eschines calls them., found a friend and
emissary of Demosthenes in constant communication
with the Macedonian king, who was also said to have
received a letter full of fair words and flattery from
the great orator.

Under these circumstances, Alexander released
the Athenian prisoners, sent money to Antipater, and
a powerful fleet into the Peloponnesus.

The Homeric principle, that there could be no
heroes without continual feasting, was regularly
acted upon by Alexander. At Tyre, previous to en-
tering upon the grand expedition to Babylon, a pub-
lic sacrifice to Hercules was celebrated, and the whole
army feasted. They were also entertained with
music and dancing, and tragedies were represented
in the greatest perfection, both from the magnificence
of the scenery and the spirit of emulation in those
who exhibited them. Plutarch, from whom we de-
rive this information, does not say whether the
Tyrians had a public theatre or not. Probably a
city so much frequented by Greeks as Tyre was not
without one. It is impossible that the great body
of the people in modern times should take the same
lively interest in theatrical representations as the

iEtat. 25.] FESTIVITIES AT TYRE. 145

Greeks did ; their theatres were invariably scenes of
contest either between rival poets or rival actors;
party spirit entered deeply into the business of the
stage, and large sums of money were lost or won ac-
cording to the sentence of the judges.

In the present case, the spectacles had been got
up at the expense of the kings of Cyprus. Atheno-
dorus and Thessalus, the two greatest tragic actors of
the day, were brought to compete with each other.
Pasicrates, the king of Soli, risked the victory upon
Athenodorus, and ^icocreon, king of Salamis, upon
Thessalus. We are not told whether the two actors
played in the same piece; — probably not, and each
had to choose his favorite character. Alexander's
feelings were interested in the contest, as Thessalus
was his favorite ; he did not, however, discover his
bias, until Athenodorus had been declared victor bv
all the votes ; then, as he left the theatre, he said, " I
commend the judges for what they have done, but
I would have given half my kingdom rather than
have seen Thessalus conquered."

The above anecdote proves the warmth of his feel-
ings, the following fact the steadiness of his affec-
tions. Tie heard that his misguided friend, Harpa-
lus, was a fugitive at Megaris. His plans, whatever
they were, had miscarried, and his associates had de-
serted him. Alexander sent to request him to return,
and to assure him that his former conduct would not
be remembered to his disadvantage. Harpalus re-
turned, and was restored to his situation. It was a

dangerous experiment; — and it failed, for on a sub-
10

146 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

sequent occasion he acted in the same manner, only
on a much larger scale. His re-appointment was,
however, an error of the head and not of the heart.

All the necessary preparations had been completed,
and the army quitted the shores of the Mediterran-
ean, and marched to the Euphrates. There were
three main passages over that river, which all at dif-
ferent periods bore the common name of Zeugma,
or the bridge. The most ancient was the Zeugma at
Thapsacus, where Cyrus, Alexander, and Crassus
passed into Mesopotamia. This was opposite the
modern Pacca. The next was the Zeugma of the
contemporaries of Strabo, at Samosata. The third
was the Zeugma of later writers, and was the passage
opposite the modern Bir.

Two bridges had been partly thrown across before-
hand ; these were completed as soon as the arnry ar-
rived, and all passed into Mesopotamia. Mazaeus, a
Persian general, who rather watched than guarded
the passage, retired with his 3,000 horse without
offering any resistance. According to Pliny, Alex-
ander was struck with the advantages of the site of
the modern Pacca, and ordered a city to be built
there; it was called Nicephorium, and by its vicin-
ity soon exhausted the less advantageously placed
Thapsacus. In the middle ages it became the favor-
ite residence of ITaroun al Pashid.

At this point Alexander had to decide upon the
future line of advance. He could either follow the
example of the younger Cyrus, and march down the
left bank of the Euphrates, or cross Mesopotamia,

JEtat. 25.] PASSAGE OF THE TIGRIS. 147

ford the Tigris, and enter Assyria from that quarter ;
he preferred the latter, because it was better fur-
nished with necessaries, and not equally exposed to
the heat of the sun.

Not a single stage or action in Mesopotamia is in-
dicated by Alexander's historians, although he
crossed the Euphrates in July — and the Tigris not
before the end of September. The royal road from
Nicephorium followed the course first of the Bilecha,
and then of one of its eastern tributaries up to Car-
rse, the Haran of the Scriptures. Thence it inter-
sected the channels of the numerous streams which,
flowing from Mount Masius, fertilize the rich terri-
tory of which Nisibis was the capital. Here the
army might halt, and furnish itself with necessaries
to any amount. Hence also Alexander could rapidly
move to any selected point upon the Tigris, and cross
it before the enemy could bring any considerable
force to bear upon him.

Darius, in the meantime, had assembled all the
forces of the East under the walls of Babylon. Hav-
ing ascertained the direction of the enemy's march,
he moved to the Tigris, and crossed over into Assy-
ria. The whole army then advanced up the left
bank of the river, until the royal road turned to the
right in the direction of Arbela; it then crossed the
Caprus or Little Zab, and reached Arbela, where the
baggage and the useless part of the army were de-
posited.

Darius conducted the combatants to the river;
Lycus or Great Zab. These alone consumed five

t

148 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

days in traversing the bridge thrown over this river.
Perhaps military men may, from this fact, make
a gross calculation of their numbers. The same
bridge was, in later times, traversed by the Persian
army which captured Amida in the reign of Constan-
tius, in three days. Ammianus Marcellinus was a
distant spectator of their passage.

Darius then advanced to Gaugamela, or the
Camel's House, so called from the camel which had
borne Darius, the son of ITystaspes, in his retreat
from Scythia. It was situated not far from the river
Bumadus, the modern Hazir Su. Here the immense
plain of Upper Assyria, stretching northward be-
tween the Gordyoean mountains and the Tigris, pre-
sented the field of battle best calculated for the opera-
tions of a Persian army. Darius selected his own
ground, and every hillock and other obstacle that
could interfere with the movements of cavalry were
carefully removed;* light troops were then sent for-
ward to observe rather than contest the passage of the
Tigris.

Alexander had reached this river in the vicinity
of Beled or Old Mosul. The season was favorable,
as all the rivers that flow from Mount Taurus are
lowest in autumn ; and no enemy appeared on the op-
posite bank; yet the army encountered great diffi-
culties in the passage, both from the depth and force

* It was the disaster at Issus that led Darius to choose a
level plain for this battle. Where the field was not naturally-
level, he made it so and awaited the attack on his own chosen
ground.

Mtat 25.] PASSAGE OF THE TIGRIS. 149

of the current, and the slippery nature of its bed.
The cavalry formed a double line, within which the
infantry marched with their shields over their heads,,
and their arms interlinked. In this manner they
crossed without the loss of lives. Their entrance into
Assyria was signalized by an almost total eclipse of
the moon. This, according to the calculation of as-
tronomers, occurred on the night of the 20th of Sep-
tember.

The soldiers were alarmed, and feared its disas-
trous influence ; but Aristander soothed their agitated
•minds, by saying that it portended evil to Persia
rather than to Macedonia. It is not easy to discover
on what principle this explanation was founded ; for,
as the sun, the glorious Mithra, was the patron god
of Persia, that kingdom could scarcely be supposed
to sympathize with the labors of the moon ; but Aris-
tander was an able man, as well as a diviner, and
boldly affirmed, that the sun properly belonged to the
Greeks, and the moon to the Persians; on the same
principle, he saw in the ensuing battle an eagle hov-
ering over Alexander's head, and pointing upwards,
announced the fact to the soldiers. It is a curious
historical coincidence, that the battle of Arbela, the
greatest victory achieved by the Macedonian arms,'
and the defeat at Pydna which proved fatal to their
empire, were both preceded by eclipses of the moon,
and that the victor in each case knew how to con-
vert the incident to his own purposes. Alexander as
well as Paulus iEmilius offered sacrifices to the sun,

150 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

moon, and earth, to the regular motions of which they
knew the phenomenon to be attributable.

For three days the army marched down the left
bank of the Tigris without seeing an enemy; on the
fourth, the light horsemen in front announced the
appearance of a body of Persian cavalry in the plain ;
they did not wait to be attacked, and were pursued
by Alexander himself and a chosen body of horse.
He failed to overtake the main body, but captured a
few whose horses were inferior in speed ; from them
he discovered that Darius was encamned as before

J-

described, and ready to give battle. It is evident
from the above account and from the authority of
other historians, that the whole country to the west
of the field of battle had been driven, and that no
inhabitants remained from whom any information
could be derived.

The army halted for four days on the spot where
the king received the long-desired intelligence; this
short repose was granted in order to enable the sol-
diers to recover from their fatigues, and to prepare
themselves for the ensuing contest. Part of even this
brief relaxation from active duty was employed in
forming an intrenched camp for the protection of the
baggage and non-combatants.

At three o'clock on the morning of the fifth day
he recommenced his march at the head of his com-
batants, who bore nothing but their arms. It was
his intention to arrive in front of the enemy at day-
break, but the distance was miscalculated, as the day
was far advanced, when on surmounting a range of

JEtat. 25. J PREPARATION FOR BATTLE. 151

hillocks, he saw the interminable lines of the Per-
sians drawn up in order of battle. The intervening
space was still four miles.

Here he commanded a halt, and proposed the ques-
tion to the leading officers hastily called together,
whether they should immediately advance or post-
pone the battle till the next morning. The great ma-
jority were averse to delay, but Parmenio, whose
experienced eye had already discovered the traces of
the levelling operations, was for encamping on the
spot, and carefully examining the ground, as he sus-
pected various parts in front of the enemy's lin^s to
be trenched and staked. His prudent advice pre-
vailed, and the army encamped on the brow of the
low hills, under arms, and in order of battle. Ihen
the king in person, escorted by a strong body of Ifght
troops and cavalry, examined every part of the field
as narrowly as circumstances would allow. On his
return to the main body he again called his officers
together, and told them, it was needless for him te
exhort men whose own courage and past deeds nrust
prove the strongest incitement; but he earnestly be-
sought them to rouse the spirits of those under th-eir
command, and impress upon their minds a sense of
the importance of the impending combat, in which
they were to contend, not for Syria, Phoenicia, and
Egypt, as before, but for all Asia and for empire.
For this purpose every captain of horse and foot
ought to address his own troop and company; every
colonel his own regiment ; and every general in the
phalanx his own brigade. The men, naturally brave,

152 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C331.

needed not long harangues to excite their courage, but
to be simply told, carefully to keep their ranks dur-
ing the struggle, to advance in the deepest silence, to
cheer with a loud and clear voice, and to peal forth
the shout of victory in the most terrific accents. He
requested the officers to be quick in catching trans-
mitted orders, and in communicating them to their
troops, and to remember that the safety of all was
endangered by the negligence and secured by the la-
borious vigilance of each individual.

The generals, as at Issus, told their king to be of
good cheer, and rely with confidence upon their ex-
ertions. The men were then ordered to take their
evening meal, and to rest for the night.

It is said that Parmenio, alarmed by the immense
array of the Persian lines, and by the discordant
sounds of the congregated nations, borne across the
plain like the hoarse murmurs of the agitated ocean,
entered the king's tent at a late hour, and proposed
a night attack. The answer was (for Parmenio was
not alone) " it would be base to steal a victory, and
Alexander must conquer in open day and without
guile."

While the Macedonians were thus snatching a brief
repose, the Persians were kept all night under arms,
as they had been during the greatest part of the pre-
ceding day; this alone was sufficient to break down
the spirits of the men and to jade the horses. But
Darius had chosen and prepared his ground, and
could not change it without throwing his whole line
into confusion.

^tat. 25.] POSITION OF THE PERSIANS. 153

His order of battle, described on paper, fell into
the hands of the Macedonians. The troops were ar-
ranged according to their nations, under their own
satraps, in the following manner: —

On the left were the Bactrians, Dahse, Persians
(horse and foot intermingled,) Suisans and Cadu-
sians. These last touched the centre.

On the right were the Syrians, Mesopotamians,
Medes, Parthians, Sacse, Tapeiri, Hyrcanians, Al-
banians, and Sacasense. The last touched the cen-
tre.

The centre, commanded by Darius himself, was
composed of the Royal Kinsmen, the Immortals, the
Indians, the expatriated Carians, and the Mardian
archers.

Behind, a second line was formed of the Uxians,
Babylonians, Carmanians, and Sitacenians. In
front of the left wing were drawn up 1,000 Bactrians,
and all the Scythian cavalry, and 100 scythe-armed
chariots. In front of Darius, and facing Alexan-
der's royal troop of Companion cavalry, were placed
15 elephants and 50 of the war-chariots. In front
of the right wing were posted the Armenian and Cap-
padocian cavalry, and 50 more of the chariots. The
Greek mercenaries were drawn up on both sides of
Darius, opposite to the Macedonian phalanx, as they
alone were supposed capable of withstanding the
charge of that formidable and dreaded body.*

* In this battle Darius used the scythe-bearing chariots:
{. e., battle chariots with sword-blades extending from the
axles. Their value consisted more in the terror inspired by
their appearance than in their real destructiveness.

154 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

With this list of nations before us, it is absurd to
impute the victories of Alexander to the effeminacy
of the Medes and Persians. The bravest and har-
diest tribes of Asia were in the field: Bactrians,
Scythians, and Dahse, with their long lances, barbed
steeds, and steel panoplies; Sacse and Parthians,
mounted archers, whose formidable arrows proved in
after ages so destructive to the legions of Rome;
Armenians, Albanians, and Cadusians, whom the
successors of Alexander failed to subdue ; and Uxian
and Mardian mountaineers, unrivalled as light troops
and skirmishers. Arrian computed their united
numbers at 1,000,000 of infantry, and 40,000 cav-
alry. Supposing the infantry did not exceed one-
fourth of that number, there would still remain
troops enough to bear down and trample the Mace-
donians under foot.

But the great mass was without an efficient head ;
their nominal chief could not bring them to co-oper-
ate, as there was no principle of cohesion between the
different parts. The sole point of union was the
royal standard: as long as that was visible in the
front of battle, it cannot be said that the Persian
satraps ever forgot their duty ; but if the king fell, or,
still worse, if the king fled, all union was dissolved,
all efforts against the enemy instantly ceased, and a
safe retreat into his own province at the head of his

I

own troops became the object of every satrap. In
attaining this object no distinction was made be-
tween friend and foe, all who obstructed the escape
were indiscriminately treated as enemies. Cyrus

Mt&t. 25.] BATTLE OF ARBELA. 155

had betrayed the fatal secret to the Greeks, Xenophon
had made it public, and Alexander proved the truth
of the maxim, " if the commander in chief of an
oriental army be killed or forced to fly, all is gained."

The king's sleep was deeper and longer than usual
on the morning of the decisive day ; nor did he awake
till Parmenio entered his tent to announce that the
troops were all under arms and expecting his pres-
ence. Parmenio asked why he slept like a man who
had already conquered, and not like one about to com-
mence the greatest battle of which the world had
hitherto heard ? Alexander smiled and said, " In
what light can you look upon us but as conquerors,
seeing we have no longer to traverse desolate coun-
tries in pursuit of Darius, and he does not decline the
combat % "

Alexander was neither tall nor large, but, with
more than ordinary power of limb, possessed great
elegance of figure; the many portraits on coins yet
extant, give assurance that his countenance was of
the best models of masculine beauty ; his complexion
was fair, with a tinge of red in his face ; his eye was
remarkable for its quickness and vivacity, and defied
imitation ; but a slight inclination of the head to one
side, natural to him, was easily adopted by his cour-
tiers, and even by many of his successors.* His

* ''Alexander was of good stature and muscular, well-pro*
portioned figure. He had the blonde type of the old Northmen
Aryans, blue eyes and golden hair, which survived latest in
Greece with the old aristocratic families. His skin, as
Plutarch particularly emphasizes, was clear and white, with

156 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

dress and arms on this memorable day are described
by Plutarch, and deserve attention. He wore a
short tnnic of the Sicilian fashion, girt close around
him, over that a linen breast-plate, strongly quilted;
his helmet, surmounted by the white plume, was of
polished steel, the work of Theodectes ; the gorget was
of the same metal and set with precious stones; his
sword, his favorite weapon in battle, was a present
from a Cyprian king, and not to be excelled for light-
ness or temper; but his belt, deeply embossed with
massy figures, was the most superb part of his armor ;
it was given by the Phodians, and Helicon, at an ad-
vanced age, had exerted all his skill in rendering it
worthy of Alexander's acceptance ; if we add to these
the shield, lance, and light greaves, we may form a
fair idea of his appearance in battle.

The army was drawn up in the following order:
on the extreme right were the Companion cavalry,
in eight strong divisions, under the immediate com-
mand of Philotas; the right wing of the phalanx
was commanded by Nicanor the son of Parmenio;

ruddy hue on cheek and breast. A characteristic feature
were the massy locks that rose up, mane-like from above the
center of his forehead, and coupled with deep set eyes and
heavy brows, gave his face the leonine look to which Plato
refers. The upward glance of the eyes, which had the soft,
melting, or, as the Greeks called it ' moist ' expression, that
artists gave to the eyes of Venus and Bacchus, the strong,
finely shaped, almost aquiline nose joined high to the fore-
head, the sensitive, passionate lips, the prominent chin —
these complete the picture that pen and chisel have left.
That he was beautiful to look upon, all accounts agree." — ■
Benjamin Ide Wheeler, Alexander, p. 228.

iEtat. 25.] BATTLE OF ARBELA. 157

the left by Craterus; the cavalry of the left wing
was composed of the Thessalians and Greek con-
federates; Parmenio commanded the left, Alexander
the right wing. This was the main battle.

Behind the phalanx a second line of infantry was
formed, with orders to face to the rear if any attack
were made from that quarter.

On the right flank of the main battle, and not in
a line with it, but in deep column behind the royal
troop of Companion cavalry, were placed half the
Agrians, half the archers, and all the veteran merce-
naries. The flank of this column was covered by the
Prodromi, Pseonian, and mercenary cavalry, under
the command of Aretas. Still more to their right
Menidas commanded another body of mercenary
cavalry. The left flank of the main battle was pro-
tected in a similar manner, by the Thracians of Si-
talces, the Odrysse, and detachments from the con-
federate and mercenary cavalry. In front of the
Companion cavalry were the rest of the Agrians and
archers, and a body of javelin men. The number
of Alexander's forces amounted to forty thousand
infantry, and seven thousand cavalry. The neces-
sity of the unusual arrangement of his troops is
obvious from the circumstance that Alexander, on
his own extreme right, was opposite Darius, who
occupied the Persian centre. The Macedonian army
was certain, in that great plain, of being enveloped
within the folding wings of their adversaries. Hence
it became necessary to be prepared for attack in front,
On both flanks, and from the rear.

158 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

Alexander, either to avoid the elephants and the
scythe-armed chariots, or to turn the right of the
Persian centre, did not lead his line straight for-
wards but caused the whole to advance obliquely
over the intervening ground. Darius and his army
adopted a parallel movement. But as Alexander
was thus rapidly edging off the ground, levelled for
the use of the chariots, Darius ordered the Bactrians
and Scythians, who were stationed in front of his
left wing, to wheel round and attack the enemy's
right flank, in order to prevent the extension of their
line in that direction. Menidas and the mercenary
cavalry rode forth to meet their charge, but were soon
overpowered by the numbers of the enemy. Then all
the cavalry under Aretas was ordered up to the sup-
port of Menidas. These also were roughly handled,
as the barbarians were not only in greater force, but
the complete armor of the Scythians made it very
difficult to make any impression upon them. The
Macedonians, however, stood their repeated charges,
and by keeping their own squadrons in close order,
succeeded in driving them back.

Then the chariots were driven against Alexander
and the right wing of the phalanx. But these as
usual, made no impression, for the greatest part of
the horses and drivers were killed in the advance by
the javelin men and the Agrians; who even ran
between these once-dreaded machines, cut their traces,
and speared the drivers. The few that reached the
line were allowed to pass through to the rear, where
they were easily captured by the grooms and royal

iEtat. 25.] BATTLE OF ARBELA. 159

attendants. Not a word is said of the operations of
the elephants. Their attack must, therefore, have
proved as unsuccessful as that of the chariots.

The two main bodies were still at some distance,
when Darius ordered his line to advance. Alexander
observing this, commanded Aretas, with all the caval-
ry and infantry of the flank column, to charge the
left wing of the enemy, who were now wheeling
round, while instead of meeting Darius with his line,
he advanced in column, and as soon as his leading
troops had broken through the first line of the barbar-
ians, he directed the whole force of the Companion
cavalry, and the right wing of the phalanx, to the
open interval. There he pierced and divided the
Persian line, and then attacked the left centre of
Darius in flank. His great object was to break
through the Kinsmen and Immortals, and reach that
monarch. The close combat did not last long. The
Persian cavalry were thronged, and in the press
their missiles were of no avail against the Mace-
donian lances. The infantry also broke and fled
before the bristling pikes of the phalanx, which
nothing could withstand on the levelled surface of
the plain. Aretas and his troops were equally suc-
cessful, and routed the enemy's left wing ; so that in
this quarter the victory of the Macedonians was de-
cisive. I wish it were possible to believe that Darius,
as recorded by Curtius and Diodorus, behaved with
courage and spirit. But the testimony of Arrian is
explicit : — " Fearful as he was beforehand, he was
the first to turn and fly."

)■

160 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

The result was by no means the same in other
parts of the field. The three brigades, attached to
the left wing, had not been able to accompany the rest
of the phalanx, in the great charge, but had halted for
the protection of the troops to the left, who were in
great danger of being defeated. An immense gap
was thus opened between the separated parts, and
the Indians and the Persian cavalry passed unmo-
lested through the interval, and reached the baggage
where the army had slept the preceding night. The
Persians slew many of the camp attendants, and were
busied in plundering, when the second line of the
phalanx faced round, attacked them in the rear, slew
many, and compelled the rest to fly.

The Persian right wing, where the Sacse, the Al-
banians, and Parthians were stationed, wheeled to
the left at the beginning of the battle, and attacked
Parmenio on every side. Their success at one time
was so decided, that the veteran general was forced
to dispatch a messenger, in order to inform Alexander
of his dangerous situation, and of the necessity of
instant aid. One great object of Alexander's ambi-
tion was to capture the Persian monarch on the field
of battle; and that object, at the moment he received
the message, was apparently within his grasp; but
he did not hesitate between his duty and inclination,
and instantly ceased from the pursuit, and with the
Companion cavalry galloped towards the enemy's
right wing. He had not proceeded far when he met
the Persian and Parthian cavalry in full retreat. It
was impossible for them to avoid the contest, and a

JEtat. 25.] BATTLE OF ARBELA. 161

desperate engagement took place. The Persians and
Parthians fought manfully, when not the victory,
but their own lives, were the stake, and many of them
broke through the Macedonian squadrons and con-
tinued their flight without turning round. In this
encounter sixty of the Companion cavalry were
killed, and Hephsestion, Coenus, and Menidas,
wounded.

In the meantime, the Thessalian cavalry, already,
perhaps, feeling the benefit of the king's victory in
the relaxed efforts of their assailants, renewed their
exertions, and Alexander arrived in time to witness
their final charge and the enemy's flight. He imme-
diately turned round and resumed the pursuit of
Darius. At the bridge, over the Lycus, night over-
took him. There he rested for a few hours, and
again setting out at midnight, in the course of the
following day reached Arbela, forty miles from the
field of battle. Darius, however, was not there,
but all his treasures and equipage fell into the victor's
hands, and a second chariot, bow, and spear, were
added to the former trophies.

Thus terminated this famous battle, the success of
which was principally due to the gallantry of the
Companion cavalry and Alexander himself. We
have no means of ascertaining their number, but it
is evident that it had been much increased since the
last battle. Their labor and consequent fatigue
were enormous, and they alone lost five hundred
horses from wounds or over-exertion.

It would be idle to speak of the number of men
11

162 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

who fell on both sides. Perhaps we may infer from
Arrian, that a hundred Macedonians of rank were
slain. As the Lvcus was not fordable, and Alex-
ander obtained early possession of the bridge, the
whole Persian army was evidently at his mercy.
Hence Arrian, who estimates the Persian loss of lives
at three hundred thousand, states the number of
prisoners to have been far greater. Their king had
brought them into such a position between the river
Tigris, the Gordysean mountains and the Lycus, that
they had no choice between victory and death, or
captivity.*

Darius fled from the field of battle, not down the
Tigris towards Babylon, but across Mount Zagrus,
probably by the pass of Kerrund. He was joined in
his flight by the Bactrians, two thousand Greek mer-
cenaries, and the surviving remains of the Royal

* The battle called by the name of Arbela, was really
fought near the village of Gaugamela, some fifty miles to the
southwest of the city of Arbela. Resulting in the complete
overthrow of Darius and the transference of ascendancv from
the Persian to the Macedonian empire, it is rightly classed by
Creasy as one of the " Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World."
The entire empire had been scoured to furnish Darius with
the enormous army of a million men : " the remotest nations
and tribes had furnished their contingents — Scythia, Bactria,
and Sogdiana ; Arachosia, Arabia, and Armenia." The army
of Alexander, on the other hand, fell a trifle short of 50,000.
As in other battles of ancient times, the disproportion of loss
between the victors and the defeated was enormous. Alex-
ander lost less than 500, while the loss of Darius was reported,
as given above, at 300,000, while more cautious writers esti-
mate his losses at from 40,000 to 90,000. The proportion of
loss was doubtless considerably above one hundred to one.

jEtat. 25.] ECBATANA. 163

Kinsmen and body guard. These formed an escort
strong enough to conduct him to Ecbatana. He did
not dread an immediate pursuit, as Babylon and
Susa would naturally attract the first notice of the
victor.

Alexander marched from Arbela, and in four days
arrived at a town called Memmis by Curtius, Ecba-
tana by Plutarch. There he viewed and admired
the perpetual flames which from time immemorial
have issued from a gulf or cavern in the vicinity of
the modern Kerkook.* The place was also remark-
able for its fountain of liquid naphtha, of so combus-
tible a nature, that the Greeks concluded it was the
fabled drug with which Medea anointed the robes that
proved fatal to the Corinthian princess. The natives,
eager to show its powers to the foreigner, formed
a long train in front of the king's lodgings and as soon
as it was dark set fire to one end, when the whole
street burst into an instantaneous blaze. Such spots
were highly venerated by the worshippers of fire.
Near the burning fountain were built a temple in
honor of the great Persian goddess Anaitis, and a
palace, once the favorite residence of Darius, the son
of Hystaspes.

Thence he advanced through a submissive country
to Babylon, the imperial seat of Semiramis and Ne-
buchadnezzar. This mighty city had once given law
to all the nations of the East, but was now rapidly
declining in wealth and importance, and the marshes
of the Euphrates were yearly recovering their

* About 90 miles southeast of Mosul, Asiatic Turkey.

164 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

lost dominions. The Persians had been severe task-
masters to their more civilized neighbors. Cyrus
had treated them kindly, but the rebellion against
the first Darius had been followed with heavy penal-
ties, and the partial destruction of their massy forti-
fications. His son Xerxes proved a tyrant to them,
he plundered their shrines, slew the chief priest of
Belus, took away the golden statue of their god, and
partly destroyed his great pyramidical temple. When
Herodotus visited the city about one hundred and
twenty years before Alexander, he found all the signs
of a declining and falling people.

The Babylonians, therefore, hailed the change of
masters with joy, and poured forth in crowds to meet
the conqueror. Mazaeus, the Persian satrap, and
the military commander of the citadel, headed the
procession. The Chaldseans, in their sacred robes,
and the native chiefs, followed in order; and all
according to the customs of the East, bore presents
in their hands. The first care of Alexander was to
restore the shrines destroyed by Xerxes, and even to
rebuild the temple of Belus in all its original magni-
ficence. The immense revenues attached to its estab-
lishments by the piety of the Assyrian kings were
restored to the priests, to whom the management of
the funds, and the superintendence of the building,
were entrusted. He then offered a sacrifice to Jupiter
Belus, according to the regular forms of the Chal-
dean religion.

Mazaus was restored to his satrapy, but his author-
ity was limited to the civil government, and the

-ffitat. 25.J ENTRANCE INTO BABYLON. 165

administration of justice. The command of the
troops and the receipt of the revenue were entrusted
to two Macedonians.

Having arranged the affairs of Assyria, and its
dependant provinces, Alexander marched eastward
to Susa. Thither he had dispatched one of his offi-
cers from the field of battle. On the road he met a
deputation, accompanied by the son of the Susian
satrap, who bore a letter from the Macedonian officer,
announcing the important intelligence, that the Su-
sians were ready to surrender their city and citadel,
and that the treasures were in safe custody.

Abulites the satrap came forth to meet Alexander
on the banks of the Choaspes, the modern Kerah,
and conducted him into the most ancient palace of
the monarchs of Asia. This had been a favorite seat
of the Persian dynasty, on account of its central situ-
ation between Persia, Media, and Assyria, nor had
Persepolis or Pasargada been more favored with their
presence and regard. Its citadel was a gaza, or
treasury, where the surplus revenues of Asia had been
accumulating for ages. According to Herodotus, all
the coin that remained, after defraying the regular
expenses of the year, was melted into earthen jars.
When the metal had cooled, the jars were broken,
and the bullion placed in the treasury. Again, when
the annual disbursements exceeded the regular in-
come, or some extraordinary expenses from war or
other causes took place, bullion, according to the
emergency, was recoined and sent to circulate through
the provinces. Alexander found fifty thousand

166 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

talents of silver* thus treasured up in the citadel of
Susa. Three thousand of these were immediately
sent to the sea-coast, in order to be forwarded to
Antipater, for the expenses of the Lacedaemonian
war, and the pacification of Greece. The same sum,
wisely expended by Darius at the commencement of
the war, would have retained Alexander to the west of
the Hellespont.

The conqueror drew a strong line of difference
between the Susians and the nations hitherto visited
by him. He paid no honors to the indigenous gods,
but celebrated his arrival with Grecian sacrifices,
gymnastic games, and the lamp race.f Probably he
regarded the Susians as a component part of the
dominant tribes of Media and Persia, whose suprem-
acy it was his object to overthrow. The Susians,
originally called Cissians and Cossseans, were a peace-
ful people, described, since history has recorded facts,
as always subject to the ruling nation. But, accord-
ing to their own traditions, their monarch, in the
Homeric ages, was the king of kings, and their city
was the capital of Tithonus, whose ever-blooming
bride was Aurora, destined to witness the gradual
decay and imbecility, not only of her once youthful
husband, but of many successive dynasties of the'
lords of the East. Their citadel, in the days of
iEschylus and Herodotus, still bore the name of
Memnoneium, and these two great antiquaries, as
well as Strabo, regard the Susians or Cissians as pos-

* The Attic silver talent was worth about $1,000.
f See p. 124, note.

JStat. 25.] SUSA— DANIEL. 167

sessing a far better right than the Egyptians to claim
the dark-visaged auxiliary of Priam as their country-
man.

At Susa also, in the gardens of the palace and on
the banks of the Ulai or Choaspes, the Prophet Daniel
had seen those visions which so clearly describe the
career of Alexander, and the destruction of the Per-
sian empire. Nor is it the least striking circumstance
connected with the history of Susa, that — when her
citadel has tumbled into dust — when her palaces have
disappeared — when the long lines of Persian, Greek,
Parthian, and numerous other dynasties have passed
away, and left not a vestige of their magnificence
and glory to attest their former existence — a small
temple still commemorates the burial-place of
Daniel, and the wilderness of Shus is annually visited
by thousands of Israelites, who, from the remotest
periods, have ceased not their pilgrimages to the tomb
of the Prophet.

Aristagoras the Milesian, when exciting the Spar-
tan king to invade Persia, had concluded his picture
by saying, " When you have taken Susa, you may vie
with Jupiter himself in wealth." Nor were the
Macedonians disappointed; for, in addition to the
gold and silver, they found other valuables of inesti-
mable price. But, what was as gratifying to Alex-
ander's own feelings, he there found many of the
trophies which Xerxes had carried away from
Greece; — among others, the bronze statues of Har-
modius and Aristogeiton, the supposed liberators of
Athens. He selected these as the most appropriate

168 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

present for the Athenians. They returned in safety
to their original pedestals, where they still remained
in the days of Arrian. The fact is worth being
recorded, because it both proves that Xerxes was an
admirer of the fine arts, and that Alexander was in
his own conscience so guiltless of a wish to tyrannize,
that he scrupled not to honor these celebrated tyranni-
cides.

Abulites was re-appointed satrap, and a Macedo-
nian garrison and governor left in the citadel. His
next march was against Persia Proper, which hence-
forward I shall distinguish bv its Grecian name
Persis. He set out from Susa, and crossed first the
Coprates, the modern Abzal, and then the Pasi-tigris,
the modern Karoon, both large and navigable
rivers. On crossing the latter, in the vicinity of
the modern Sinister, he entered the Uxian territory.
The Uxians of the plain were a peaceful race, who
lived in obedience to the laws of the empire. But
their kinsmen of the hills were robbers and warriors.
The royal road between Susa and Persepolis passed
through a defile in their possession. The command
of this had enabled them to make the great king trib-
utary, and a certain sum was regularly paid to these
bandits, whenever the king passed from one capital
to the other. They now sent a message to Alexander,
announcing that he should not pass unless he paid
the customary gratuity. He told them brieflv " to
attend next day at the defile, and receive their due."

As soon as the messengers had departed, he took
his guards and eight thousand chosen infantry, and

-ffitat. 25.] MARCH INTO PERSIS. 169

entered into the mountain gorges. Craterus was
ordered to conduct the rest of the army along the
royal road. Alexander, guided by Susians, arrived
by night at the chief villages of the Uxians, and
surprised the inhabitants in their beds. Many of
these were slain, a few escaped up the mountains, and
their flocks and herds were driven away. Thence he
hurried to the pass, where the Uxians had assembled
their whole effective force. They were panic-struck
on seeing Alexander coming from the hills upon their
rear, and the main army at the same time advancing
along the road, and broke and fled in all directions.
Some were killed, others threw themselves over prec-
ipices, and all were taught in a very short time that
the sovereignty of Asia had passed into very dif-
ferent hands. It was not without difficulty that they
were allowed to retain their mountain fastnesses, on
engaging to pay a tribute. Ptolemy adds, that they
owed their safety to Sysigambis, the mother of
Darius, who interfered in their behalf. Did the
present rulers of Central Asia behave with the spirit
and decision of Alexander, some hopes might be
entertained of the civilization of that part of the
world, the inhabitants of which form only two great
divisions, the robber and the robbed — the bandits
of the desert and the mountains, and the half -starved
cultivators of the plains.

The geography of Persis * is peculiar and strongly

* Persis, the nucleus of the Persian empire, was situated in
the southwestern part of modern Persia, bordering on the

170 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

marked. From Media it is separated by the contin-
uous ridge of Mount Zagrus, and from its own sea-
coast by another nameless ridge, which, parting from
Mount Zagrus near the sources of the river Tab, takes
a south-eastern direction, and breaks into numerous
branches before it enters Carmania. The country
inclosed between these two ridges was, from its posi-
tion, called Coele, or Hollow Persis, and formed the
most fertile district of the kingdom. Its vales were
numerous, and these were irrigated by various
streams, of which the principal were the Medus, the
Araxes, and the Cyrus. The Medus and Araxes,
flowing down from different parts of Mount Zagrus,
united their streams, and, after passing under the
walls of Persepolis, were either expended in the
irrigation of the great vale, or, as at present, dis-
charged their waters into an inland lake. The
Cyrus has not yet been identified with any modern
stream, but will be found, according to ancient
authorities, considerably to the east of Persepolis.
In Alexander's time, two roads appear to have
existed between Susiana and Persis, one leading to
the sea-coast, and thence turning to the left across
the nameless ridge into the great vale, the other fol-
lowing the course of the modern Tab up to the strong
pass called by the ancients the Persian Gates, by the
moderns Kelat SufTeed, (the Castle of the Daemons).
Parmenio with the baggage was ordered to take the

Persian Gulf. It included the vicinity of the modern city of
Shiraz, and very nearly corresponded to the modern province
of Faristan.

JEtat. 25.] GATES OF PERSIS. 171

lower road, while Alexander with the effective force
marched to the Gates.

Persis was wealthy and populous, and the inhab-
itants must have been aware that the invader had
in deed and word distinguished their case from that
of the subject nations. According to this distinc-
tion, the Persians alone had been guilty of all the
outrages against Greece. They, as the dominant
power, had assembled their slaves, and driven them
forwards to the work of destruction. They were,
therefore, personal enemies, and to be humbled as
well as subdued. The satrap Ariobarzanes, there-
fore, had no difficulty in arming forty thousand men
for the defence of the passes.

These are defended at one point by a lofty rock,
abrupt and precipitous on all sides. The summit is
a small plain, supplied with copious springs, and
impregnable if faithfully defended. These Gates,
and the hills on both sides, were occupied by the
satrap's forces, and a fortified camp commanded the
narrowest gorge. Alexander marched into the defile,
i and reached the foot of the rock. Then Ariobarzanes
gave the signal for attack, and the Macedonians were
overwhelmed with stones and missiles of every de-
scription, not only from the front, but also from both
flanks. The success of the Persians was for the time
complete, and their enemies retired before them for
the space of nearly four miles.

Alexander then summoned a council, and examined
prisoners as to the existence of any road by which the
pass could be turned. Some were found who prom-

172 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

ised to guide the army, by mountain paths and
precipitous ways, into the plain of Persis. The
king's plans were soon formed. He ordered Craterus,
with the main body, to encamp at the mouth of the
pass, and to make a vigorous attack from the front,
as soon as he should understand, from the sound of
the trumpets, that the king had gained the rear. With
the evening twilight he led out the rest of his troops,
entered the mountains, and, having followed the
guides for six miles, sent Amyntas, Philotas, and
Ccenus forward, with orders to descend into the plain,
and throw a bridge over the river, which, he under-
stood, intervened between the pass and Persepolis.
Then putting himself at the head of the guards, the
brigade of Perdiccas, the most active archers and
Agrians, and the royal troop of the Companion
cavalry he turned to the right over high mountains
and difficult paths, and in succession surprised three
posts of the enemy, without allowing a single individ-
ual to escape in the direction of the satrap's camp.

At break of day he found himself in the rear of
the pass and of the fortified camp. He attacked
and carried the latter with his usual impetuosity,
and drove out the Persians — surprised and panic-
struck, and more anxious to fly than eager to -fight. In
front they were met by Craterus, and driven back
upon Alexander, who pressed close upon their rear.
In their despair they attempted to regain their camp,
but this was already occupied by Ptolemy, the son of
Lagus, with three thousand men. Hemmed in, there-
fore, on all sides, the greater part were cut to pieces.

JEt&t. 25.] FATE OF PERSEPOLIS. 173

A few, with Ariobarzanes, escaped up the sides of
the mountains. It is not mentioned that the rock was
taken ; probably it was deserted in the general panic,
or surrendered to the victor when its further defence
could have no rational object.

On the road between the defiles and Persepolis,
the King met a messenger from Tiridates, the gov-
ernor, desiring him to hasten his advance, as the
Persian soldiers were threatening to plunder the
royal treasury. Thither, therefore, he hurried at
the head of his cavalry, found the bridge across the
river completed, and reached Persepolis in time to
save the treasures.

According to Diodorus and Curtius, the city, with
the exception of the palace, was given up to the Mace-
donians, who plundered it with all the licence usually
granted to soldiers when towns are taken by storm.
The palace, according to Arrian, was deliberately
committed to the flames, to avenge the destruction of
Athens, the conflagration of the temples of the Gre-
cian gods, and the other evils inflicted by Xerxes on
Greece. Parmenio attempted in vain to dissuade
the king from the commission of this outrage. Among
other arguments, he represented how unseemly it was
in him to destroy his own property, and how such
conduct must naturally incline the Asiatic nations
to regard him more as a passing depredator than as
their future and permanent sovereign ; but the spirit
of Achilles predominated over the voice of justice,
generosity, and prudence, and the palace of the
Achaemenidse, at the gates of which the deputies of

174 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

a hundred nations used to bow and listen to theii
destiny, was reduced to ashes.*

* The story of the burning of the royal palace at Per-
sepolis is narrated by Plutarch as follows : ' ' When Alex-
ander was about to set forth from this place against Darius,
he joined with hisomcersat an entertainment of drinking and
other pastimes, and indulged so far as to let every one's mis-
tress sit by and drink with them. The most celebrated of
them was Thais, an Athenian, mistress of Ptolemy, who was
afterwards king of Egypt. She, partly as a sort of well turned
compliment to Alexander, partly out of sport as the drinking
went on, at last was carried so far as to utter a saying, not
misbecoming her native country's character, though some-
what too lofty for her own condition. She said it was indeed
some recompense for the toils she had undergone in following
the camp all over Asia, that she was that day reveling in, and
could insult over, the stately palace of the Persian monarchs.
But, she added, it would please her much better if, while the
king looked on, she might in sport, with her own hands, set
fire to the court of Xerxes who reduced the city of Athens to
ashes, that it might be recorded to posterity, that the women
who followed Alexander had taken a severer revenge on the
Persians for the sufferings and affronts of Greece, than all the
famed commanders had been able to do by sea or land.

What she said was received with such universal liking and
murmurs of applause, and so seconded by the encouragement
and eagerness of the company, that the king himself, per-
suaded to be of the party, started from his seat, and with a
chaplet of flowers on his head, and a lighted torch in his hand,
led them the way, while they went after him in a riotous
manner, dancing and making loud cries about the place ;
which when the rest of the Macedonians perceived, they also
in great delight ran thither with torches ; for they hoped the
burning and destruction of the royal palace was an indication
that he looked homeward, and had no design to reside among
the barbarians. Thus some writers give their account of this

iEtat. 25.] DEMARATUS THE CORINTHIAN. 175

It is impossible to say whether the after tale of
the revelry and excess, and of the influence of the
Athenian Thais, in producing this catastrophe, was
invented as a palliation or exaggeration of the
monarch's conduct. By the Greeks at home the action
would be hailed as a deed of laudable vengeance and
retributive justice, but perhaps it was wisdom to
whisper among the Eastern nations that it sprung
from the wild excess and excitement of the moment,
and not from the cool and deliberate resolution of
their conqueror.

Previous to the destruction of the palace, the
victor entered it, and examined the whole with the
care and attention justly due to the taste and mag-
nificence displayed in its erection. He entered the
presence chamber — and seated himself on the throne
of the king of kings. There can be no doubt that
such a sight must have been a source of the greatest
pride and exultation to every Greek who possessed
a single spark of national feeling. Demaratus, the
Corinthian, who was one of the royal Companions
then present, burst into tears, with the exclamation,
" What a pleasure have the Greeks missed who died
without seeing Alexander on the throne of Darius ! "

At the entrance of the palace stood a colossal statue
of Xerxes. This, probably by the Greek soldiers,
had been thrown down from its pedestal, and lay
neglected on the ground. Alexander, on passing it,

action, while others 'says it was done deliberately ; however,
all agree that he soon repented of it, and gave orders to put out
the fire."

176 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 331.

stopped and addressed it, as if it had been alive,
" Shall we leave yon in this condition on account of
the war yon made upon Greece, or raise yon again
for the sake of your magnanimity and other vir-
tues ? " He stood a long time as if deliberating which
he should do, then passed on, and left it as it was.
Both these anecdotes are given by Plutarch.

The ruins of the palace of Persepolis are still to
be seen near Istakar, on the right bank of the united
waters of the Medus and Araxes. Travellers speak
of them with admiration — not unmixed with awe.
Many pillars still remain standing, a melancholy
monument of the wealth, taste, and civilization of
the Persians, and, in this instance, of the barbarian
vengeance of the Greek.

The winter had already set in, but the activity
of Alexander was not to be repressed; at the head
of a chosen detachment he invaded the mountain
tribes, known by the names of Cosssei, Mardi, and
Paroetacse, pursued them into their hill villages
during the most inclement season of the year, and
thus compelled them to submit to his authority.

He also visited Pasargada, built by the elder
Cyrus, on the spot where he had finally defeated the
Median Astyages. The treasures and citadel were
delivered up without resistance, and made the third
gaza which fell into his hands. Conscious that he
had not treated the inhabitants of Persis like a gen-
erous conqueror, he did not venture to leave the treas-
ures within the province. An immense train of
baggage-horses were therefore laden with the spoils

Mtat 25.] PERSEPOLIS AND PASARGADA. 177

of Persepolis and Pasargada, and attended the mo-
tions of the army, which, after remaining four
months in Persis, set forward again in pursuit of
Darius.

That monarch had hitherto lingered at Ecbatana,
where, instead of manfully preparing to renew the
contest, he had been indulging idle hopes that some
untoward accident might befall Alexander in his
visits to Babylon and Susa, and in his conquest of

Persis.
12

CHAPTER IX.

FIFTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 330.

Alexander advanced from Persepolis, and on the
road heard that the Cadusians and Scythians were
marching to the assistance of Darius, who, accord-
ing to the report, was to meet the Macedonians and
give them battle. On hearing this, he separated his
effective force from the long train of baggage that
attended him, and in twelve days entered Media ;
here he learned that the report respecting the Cadu-
sians and Medians was false, and that Darius was
preparing to fly to the Upper Provinces. On this he
quickened his pace, and when within three days'
march of Ecbatana, met Bisthanes, the son of Ochus,
the late king ; from him he received certain infor-
mation that Darius had commenced his flight five
days before, with 6,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and
with 7,000 talents taken from the Median treasury.

Alexander soon after entered Ecbatana, the modern
Ispahan,* and the capital of the second imperial na-
tion of Asia. This city, like Persepolis, is situated
on a river that finds no exit into the sea, but is lost in

* This city, once populous, now contains only about 60.000
inhabitants. It is famed for its Great Mosque, erected in the
16th century. Its fabrics are highly prized.

178

JEtat. 26.] ECBATANA. 179

sandy deserts. Its own natural stream was too
scanty to supply the great plain through which it
flowed and the wants of the rising city. Semiramis,
therefore, or one of those great Assyrian monarchs,
whose names have perished, but whose works remain,
had with incredible labor, and by perforating a moun-
tain, conducted a much larger river into the plain.
This, at present, is called the Helmund. The spot
where the rock is perforated is about three days'
journey to the south-west of Ispahan. The climate
of this capital is most delightful and healthy. The
hottest day in summer is tempered by the mountain
breezes, and instead of relaxing, braces the human
frame ; hence it was the favorite summer residence
of the ancient monarchs, from the elder Cyrus to the
last of the Sassanidse. The plain on which it is sit-
uated is unrivalled for its fertility, and capable of
supplying a countless population with abundant
provisions. Polybius describes the city as infinitely
surpassing its sister capitals in wealth and magnifi-
cence ; and Herodotus writes, that the citadel alone,
within which was inclosed the palace of Dejoces, the
founder of the second Median monarchy, was equal
in circumference to Athens.

Here terminated the services of the Thessalian and
Confederate cavalry, that had served Alexander with
so much valor, fidelity, and success. In addition to
their full pay and to the booty accumulated during
the four campaigns, they received, as a further proof
of their leader's approbation of their conduct, a
gratuity of 2,000 talents to be divided among theou

180 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

Their war-horses were purchased by the king, and a
body of cavalry appointed to escort them to the sea-
coast, whence they were to be conveyed in ships to
Euboea. Liberty was given to all who might wish to
enter the Macedonian service, and many preferred
the dangers and excitements of a warrior's life to the
comforts of a peaceful and wealthy home.

Six thousand Macedonians and a strong body of
horse were left in garrison at Ecbatana. The treas-
ures of Persepolis and Pasargada, were deposited by
Parmenio, in the citadel, and entrusted to the care of
Harpalus. Parmenio, after arranging affairs at
Ecbatana, was ordered to lead the mercenaries, the
Thracians, and all the cavlary but the Companions,
by a circuitous route, through the territory of the
Cadusians into Hyrcania.

Alexander himself, with the Companion cavalry,
the greater part of the phalanx, the archers, and the
Agrians, went in pursuit of Darius. Two roads lead
from Ispahan to the north-eastern provinces of the
empire, one through Yezd, and thence along the east-
ern edge of the Great Desert into Khorasan ; the
other, which is most frequented, through Kashan or
JSTatunz, along the western edge of the Great Desert,
to the pass of Khawar (the Caspian gates), and
thence along the southern foot of Mount Taurus into
Khorasan.

As Darius was conveying a heavy treasure with
him along this latter road, Alexander entertained a
hope that he might be able to overtake him before he
reached the gates. He pressed forwards, therefore,

Mtzt. 26.] PURSUIT OF DARIUS. 181

with extraordinary rapidity, so that net only a great
part of the infantry were compelled to fall behind,
but many horses perished from fatigue and heat. In
eleven days he reached Rhagae, placed by Strabo
about thirty miles south of the Caspian gates, and
consequently not to be confounded with the Key of the
middle ages, which is more than fifty miles to the
northwest of them. Here he was informed that
Darius had already passed the defile. Despairing,
therefore, of overtaking him with his tired troops, he
halted Hve days at Rhagae, to refresh his army and
reassemble the stragglers. During his short stay he
appointed a Persian nobleman, by name Oxydates, to
be satrap of the important province of Media. Alex-
ander had found him a prisoner in the citadel of Susa,
and this very dubious test was looked upon as a
sufficient recommendation for his fidelity at least.

He resumed his march, and in the course of the
second day passed through the Caspian gates, and
reached the edge of a small desert to the east of them.
Here he had halted, and parties had been sent in dif-
ferent directions to procure forage and provisions,
when Bagistanes, a Babylonian nobleman, and Anti-
belus, the son of Mayaeus, came and informed him
that Xabarzanes, the commander of the royal guards,
the satraps. Bessus, of Bactria, Barsaentes, of the
Drangae, Brazas, of the Arachosians, and Satibar-
zanes, of Areia, had seized the person of their sover-
eign and were keeping him in confinement.

Alexander, without a moment's delay, or even
waiting for the return of the foraging parties, se-

182 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

lected the ablest and most active of the infantry, and
with these and the Companion cavalry, bearing noth-
ing with them but their arms and two days' provis-
ions, hastened forward to rescue, if possible, the un-
happy Darius from the hands of traitors. The party
marched all night, and did not halt till next day at
noon. With the night they again resumed their
march, and with the dawn reached the spot where
Bagistanes had left the satraps encamped. Here he
procured further information, that Darius was con-
fined in a covered wagon, and Bessus recognized as
chief, by the Bactrian cavalry and all the barbarians
— except the Persian Artabazus and his sons, who,
together with the Greek mercenaries, had remained
faithful, but being too weak to prevent the treason,
had separated from the traitors, and retired to the
mountains on the left ; that the supposed plans of
the conspirators were, if Alexander pursued closely,
to deliver Darius and thus obtain favor — but if he
did not, to assemble all the forces they could collect,
and assert the independence of their several satrapies
— in the meantime obeying Bessus as their leader.

Alexander reposed for the whole of that day at the
place where he procured this information, for both
men and horses were exhausted by the continued
exertions. At night the march was again resumed,
and continued until the next day at noon, when they
arrived at a village, where the satraps had encamped
during the preceding day, for they also marched by
night. Here he questioned the inhabitants, whether
there were no shorter road than the one along which!

iEtat. 26.] DEATH OF DARIUS. 183

the enemy was proceeding, and heard that there was,
but across a desert and without water. He imme-
diately ordered guides, and as the foot could no longer
keep up with him, he dismounted 500 of the cavalry
and gave their horses to the same number of infantry
officers and others, distinguished for their strength
and agility : these men were, of course, to act again
as foot-soldiers, should such service become necessary.
ISTicanor and Attains were ordered to select the most
active of the remaining troops, and to pursue the
enemy along the main road, while the main body,
under Craterus, was to follow slowly and in battle
array.

The king himself, with the Companion cavalry,
and mounted infantry, set out early in the evening,
advanced five-and-twenty miles during the night, and
at break of day had the satisfaction of seeing the
troops of the satrap marching in disorder, and mostly
without their arms. The very sight of Alexander put
the greater number to flight, and when a few of those
who offered resistance had been cut down, all fled.
Bessus and his companions attempted for a time to
hurry forward the vehicle in which the unfortunate
Darius was confined ; but, on discovering that the
victor was rapidly gaining upon them, Barsaentes
and Satibarzanes wounded him fatally, and left him
to expire by the road-side. He had breathed his
last before Alexander came up, who thus lost an
opportunity of showing how generously he could
treat his rival, when fortune had decided the contest
in his favor. The assassination took place in the

184 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

month of July, B. C. 330, and the scene was probably
the plain to the southwest of the modern Damgan.
Arrian's estimate of the character of Darius is, in
my opinion, so judicious, that I shall content myself
with translating it freely.*

* " As soon as Bessus and his company fonnd that their
pursuers were close upon them, they attempted at first to
hurry forward, in the vain hope of still effecting their escape.
Darius was in a chariot. They urged this chariot on, but it
moved heavily. Then they concluded to abandon it; and they
called upon Darius to mount a horse and ride off with them,
leaving the rest of the army and the baggage to its fate. But
Darius refused. He said he would rather trust himself in the
hands of Alexander than in those of such traitors as they.
Rendered desperate by their situation, and exasperated by
this reply, Bessus and his confederates thrust their spears into
Darius' body, as he sat in his chariot, and then galloped away.
They divided into different parties, each taking a different
road. Their object in doing this was to increase their chances
of escape by confusing Alexander in his plans for pursuing
them. Alexander pressed on toward the ground which the
enemy were abandoning, and sent off separate detachments
after the various divisions of the flying army. . . .

The Macedonians searched about in various places, thinking
it possible that, in the sudden dispersion of the enemy, Darius
might have been left behind. At last the chariot in whicli lie
was lying was found. Darius was in it, pierced with spears.
The floor of the chariot was covered with blood. They raised
him a little and he spoke. He called for water. Men wounded
and dying on the field of battle are tormented always with an
insatiable and intolerable thirst. . . . Darius was suffering
this thirst. . . . His first cry, when his enemies came around
him with shouts of exultation, was not for his life, not for
mercy, not for relief from the pain and anguish of his wounds
— he begged them to give him some water. ...

M A Macedonian soldier went immediately to get some. . . ,

Mint. 26.] DEATH OF DARIUS. 185

" This (says he) was the end of Darius, who, as
a warrior, was singularly remiss and injudicious.
In other respects his character is blameless, either
because he was just by nature, or because he had no

Darius received the drink. He then said that he was ex-
tremely glad that they had an interpreter with them, who
could understand him and bear his message to Alexander. He
had been afraid that he should have had to die without being
able to communicate what he had to say. 'Tell Alexander,'
said he, then, ' that I feel under the strongest obligations to
him, which I can now never repay, for his kindness to my
wife, my mother, and my children. He not only spared their
lives, but treated them with the greatest consideration and
care, and did all in his power to make them happy. The last
feeling in my heart is gratitude to him for these favors. I
hope now that he will go on prosperously, and finish his con-
quests as triumphantly as he has begun them.' He would
have made one last request, he added, if he had thought it
necessary, and that was that Alexander would pursue the
traitor Bessus, and avenge the murder he had committed ; but
he was sure that Alexander would do this of his own accord,
as the punishment of such treachery was an object of common
interest for every king.

" Darius then took Poly stratus, the Macedonian who had
brought him the water, by the hand, saying : ' Give Alexander
thy hand as I now give thee mine ; it is the pledge of my grati-
tude and affection.' Darius was too weak to say much more.
. . . He sank gradually and soon ceased to breathe. Alex-
ander came up a few minutes after all was over. He was at
first shocked at the spectacle before him, and then over-
whelmed with grief. He wept bitterly. . . . He immedi-
ately made arrangements for having the body embalmed, and
then sent it to Susa, for Sysigambis, in a very costly coffin,
and with a procession of royal magnificence." — Abbott.

For the vengeance Alexander took upon Bessus for his as-
sassination, see the following chapter, p. 202.

186 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

opportunity of displaying the contrary, as his acces-
sion and the Macedonian invasion were simultaneous.
It was not in his power, therefore, to oppress his
subjects, as his danger was greater than theirs. His
reign was one unbroken series of disasters. First
occurred the defeat of his satraps in the cavalry en-
gagement on the Granicus, then the loss of ^Eolia,
Ionia, both Phrygias, Lydia, Caria, and the whole
maritime coast as far as Cilicia ; then his own
defeat at Issus, followed by the capture of his mother,
wife, and children, and by the loss of Phoenicia and
all Egypt. At Arbela, he was the first to commence
a disgraceful flight, where he lost an innumerablo
army, composed of barbarians of almost every race.
Thenceforth he wandered from place to place, a fugi-
tive in his own empire, until he was at last miserably
betrayed by his own retinue, and loaded, king of
kings as he was, with ignominy and chains. Finally
he was treacherously assassinated by his most inti-
mate connections. Such was the fortune of Darius
while living. After his death he was buried with
royal honors, his children were brought up and edu-
cated by Alexander — in the same manner as if their
father had been still king, and the conqueror married
his daughter. At his death he was about fifty years
old."

Alexander then entered Hecatompylos, the ancient
capital of Parthia Proper. It received its Greek
name from being the centre where many roads met,
and is probably the modern Damgan. Here he rested
until he had re-collected and refreshed the army

Mt&t. 26.] INVASION OF HYRCANIA. 187

scattered and exhausted by the extraordinary rapidity
of the pursuit. Nicanor, the son of Parmenio, who
had held one of the most confidential commands dur-
ing all the campaigns, and who had of late undergone
great fatigue, sunk under the exertion, and soon after
died.

Alexander now prepared to invade Hyrcania.
This province, situated between Mount Taurus and
the south-eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, contained
the greater portion of the modern Mazanderan, and
the whole of Astrabad and Jorgan. The country
betwen Mount Taurus and the Caspian is low,
marshy, and covered with excellent timber, well
adapted for shipbuilding. Thus it forms a striking
contrast to the elevated steps of Media, Khorasan,
Carmania, and Persis. The mountain passes being
beset by the bandit tribes, the king divided his army
into three bodies. He himself led the most numer-
ous and active division over the mountains, by the
shortest and most difficult paths. Craterus, with
two brigades of the phalanx, and some archers and
cavalry, was ordered to make a circuit to the left
through the territories of the Tapeiri, who have be-
queathed a name to the modern Tabaristan. Erigy-
ius, the friend of his youth, who had been much
brought forward of late, conducted the main body
along the royal road leading from Hecatompylos to
Zadra-Carta, probably the modern Sari. The three
divisions were equally successful, and re-united in the
plains of Hyrcania. They had not, however, fallen
in with the Greek mercenaries of Darius, who had

1S8 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

been one object of this combined movement. While
the army was thus encamped, Artabazus and his
three sons presented themselves before Alexander,
and brought with them Autophradates, the satrap of
the Tapeiri, and deputies from the Greek mercena-
ries. His satrapy was restored to Autophradates;
and Artabazus and his sons were received with great
distinction and honor, both on account of their high
nobility and of their fidelity to their unhappy sove-
reign. The Greek deputies, who came to seek some
terms of pacification, were briefly told that none
could be granted, and that they must submit them-
selves to the judgment of the king.

This they promised to do, and officers were sent to
conduct them to the camp. In the meantime he him-
self marched westward into the country of the Mardi,
who inhabited the lofty mountains to the northwest of
the Caspian Gates, and in the vicinity of the modern
Tehran.* This nation, into whose mountain for-
tresses no enemy within the memory of man had
ever penetrated, submitted after a slight resistance,
and were commanded to obey the orders of the
satrap of the Tapeiri. If Alexander had known as
much of the heroic poetry of the East as of the West,
he would have prided himself on having traversed the
regions, and conquered the enemies, which had al-
ready conferred an immortal name on Kustan, the
Hercules of Persia.

* Tehran, or Teheran, has for more than two hundred
years, been the capital of Persia. It is, for that country, a
flourishing city, counting over 200,000 inhabitants.

1

Mt&t. 26.] MARCH THROUGH PARTHIA. 189

On his return from this expedition, he found the
Greek mercenaries, and ambassadors, from various
states, who had continued to the last in the court of
The Great King. Among others, deputies from
Lacedsemon and Athens proved how busy of late
the intrigues between the southern Greeks and Darius
had been. These were imprisoned, but the envoys
from Sinope and Carthage were dismissed. In the
case of the Greek mercenaries, a distinction was
drawn. Those who had entered the Persian service
previous to the decree constituting a captain-general
to lead the Greeks into Asia, were dismissed. Par-
don was offered to the rest, on condition of entering
into the Macedonian service. These willingly ac-
cepted the alternative, and were placed under the
command of Andronicus, who had conducted them
into camp, and interested himself in their behalf.

Alexander then moved to Zadra-Carta, where he
remained fifteen days, which were partly devoted to
public sacrifices, festivities, and gymnastic games.

Thence he marched eastward through Parthia —

land arrived at Susia or Susa, a city of Arcia, the
modern Khorasan. Satibarzanes, the satrap, came
and made his submission ; and, although he had been
bne of the actual murderers of Darius, was restored
to his government. An officer and forty horsemen
were sent to escort him to Arta-Coana, his chief city,
and to announce to all that he was recognized as satrap
by the victor. Many Persians came over to Alexan-
der, while remaining at Susia, and informed him that
Bessus wore the upright tiara, and the robe with the

190 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

intermingled white and purple stripes, distinctions
in Persia peculiar to the king of kings — that he had
assumed the name of Artaxerxes, and claimed the
sovereignty of all Asia — that he was supported by the
Persians who had taken refuge in Bactria, as well as
the majority of the Bactrians — and that he was in
daily expectation of being joined by a strong body of
Scythian auxiliaries.

This important intelligence determined Alexander
immediately to enter Bactria. He had already col-
lected his forces and was preparing to march, when
suddenly it was announced that Satibarzanes had put
the officer and the escort of cavalry to death, and was
collecting an army at Arta-Coana — with the intention
of supporting Bessus and making war upon Alexan-
der. As this was the first breach of faith, committed
by any Persian nobleman admitted into his service,
Alexander, with his usual promptitude, returned
instantly, reached Arta-Coana in the evening of the
second day, and by his celerity confounded the plans
of the satrap, who fled and left his accomplices to the
mercy of the victor. Arta-Coana was probably the
city which, by the later Greeks, was called the Areian
Alexandria. The latter was undoubtedly the modern
Hreat, and the struggle between its native and
Greek name was long and doubtful : — even as late as
the fourteenth century it was called Skandria by the
Persians. It was situated on the river Aries, which
according to ancient authors ended either in the
desert or a lake j — although modern maps prolong its

JEtat. 26.] REVOLT OF THE AREIANS. 191

course into the Ted j en or Ochus, which, to say the
least of it, is extremely improbable.

Alexander, having been thus forced to return to
Arta-Coana, did not resume his original route into
Bactria, but changed his plan. Probably the incli-
nation shown by the Arcians to rise in arms rendered
it imprudent to advance into Bactria, while Arcia on
the right and Sogdiana on the left flank were hostile.
After suppressing the Areian revolt, he therefore
marched into Drangiana against Barsaentes, the
satrap, the accomplice of Satibarzanes in the murder
of Darius, and probably in the late revolt. The assas-
sin fled into the eastern provinces; and, being there
seized and delivered to Alexander, was ordered to be
executed for his treason.

While the army was encamped in this province,a
conspiracy was discovered, which ended in the exe-
cution of the two most powerful men in the army.
Arrian's account is brief and consistent, and therefore
deserves to be inserted.

" Here (he says) the king discovered the treason
of Philotas, the son of Parmenio. Both Aristobulus
and Ptolemy write that his guilty intentions had been
mentioned to Alexander even as early as the visit to
Egypt ; but that the information appeared incredible
to the king, on account of the friendship which, from
their earliest year, had subsisted between him and
Philotas, and of the honors with which he had loaded
both the father and the son. Ptolemy, the son of
Lagus, writes that Philotas was brought before the
assembled Macedonians, that Alexander was vehe-

192 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

ment in his accusations, and that Philotas spoke in
his own defence ; that witnesses were brought for-
wards and convicted Philotas and his accomplices,
both by other clear proofs and by his own confession,
that he had heard that a conspiracy was forming
against Alexander. He was thus convicted of hav-
ing concealed the matter from the king, although he
had had to wait upon him twice a day in the royal
tent. Philotas and his accomplices were, therefore,
pierced to death by the darts of the Macedonians."

One of the Poman emperors complained, with
equal humor and truth, that baffled and detected con-
spiracies are always supposed never to have existed;
and that the only chance a sovereign had of being
believed in such a case, was to allow the traitors to
execute their designs. It is not to be wondered, there-
fore, that the republicans of Greece have depicted
this most unhappy and melancholy occurrence in the
colors best adapted to blacken the character of Alex-
ander. According to them, Philotas was put to the
rack, tortured, and blasted by the withering look of
his sovereign, while yet hanging upon the wheel;
and a confession of guilt, thus extorted, was pressed
against him wmen brought before the Macedonian
assembly. For these atrocities, however, there does
not appear the slightest foundation. The facts of the
case, as far as they can be extracted from the different
accounts, appear to have been as follows :

Dymnus, an officer of no great rank or authority,
had attempted to induce his friend Nicomachus to
join in a conspiracy against the life of Alexander.

JEtat. 26.] DEATH OF PHILOTAS. 193

Nicomachus pretended to enter into the design, and
drew from Dymnus the names of the leaders in the
plot. He then without delay mentioned the whole
affair to his brother Cebalinus, who, as the other's
motions would probably be watched, was to discover
the affair. But Cebalinus, finding it difficult to pro-
cure personal access to the royal presence, accosted
Philotas, who was in daily attendance, and requested
him to transmit the circumstances to the king. Phi-
lotas agreed to do so. But Cebalinus, naturally sur-
prised that no inquiry took place, and that neither he
nor Nicomachus had been summoned to give evi-
dence, waited again on Philotas, and asked if he had
made the communication. The answer given by
Philotas was, that Alexander had been too busily
engaged all day, but that he would certainly mention
it next morning. This also was passing without any
inquiries, when the brothers, either suspicious of the
integrity of Philotas, or fearful lest the discovery
should reach the king by some other channel, applied
to Metron, one of the royal pages, who instantly laid
the whole affair before Alexander. Nor was any
delay safe, as according to Dymnus the very next day
was fixed for carrying the plot into execution. Alex-
ander himself examined the informers, and sent a
detachment of the guards to seize Dymnus ; but they
failed to bring him alive before the king. He either
slew himself, or by his extreme resistance compelled
the guards to slay him. His conduct in either case
was conclusive of his guilt, and proved that his pa-
trons, whoever they might be, had rightly judged of
13

194 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

his fitness for the desperate service on which he had
entered.

The clue being thus broken, it was natural that
suspicious should fall upon the great officer whose
most culpable negligence had thus endangered the life
of his sovereign; and he was brought to trial before
the great jury of the Macedonian army. According
to Curtius, the assembly in peace, and the army in
war, had alone, under the Macedonian constitution,
the power of inflicting capital punishment.

Philotas was a brave and gallant man, of expensive
habits, fond of pleasure, affecting Persian magnifi-
cence in his equipage, retinue, and mode of living.
It is said also that among private friends, and even
to his mistresses, he was wont to speak in a disparag-
ing tone of the abilities and achievements of Alexan-
der— call him the boy — and claim for himself and
his father the whole glory and renown of the Mace-
donian victories. Indulgence in conversation of this
description, equally absurd and indecorous, must
have tended to foster, if not produce, in his mind
feelings of contempt and disregard for his sovereign.
" Make yourself less conspicuous, my son," was the
wise but ineffectual counsel of his father. His inso-
lent demeanor could not escape the personal observa-
tion of the quick-sighted monarch, nor were there
wanting those who carefully repeated in the royal
presence the arrogant language of Philotas. Thus
was the king's confidence in the son of Parmenio
shaken ; and the vain youth had the mortification of
seeing Craterus, his personal opponent, entrusted,

JEtat. 26.] DEATH OF PHILOTAS. 195

during the two last campaigns, with every separate
command of importance. A preference so marked
must naturally have increased his discontent, caused
him to regard himself as overlooked and aggrieved, and
made him a willing participator in any desperate
schemes. He had been left behind in Parthia to
celebrate the funeral obsequies of his brother Nicanor,
and had not long rejoined the camp before the dis-
covery of the plot took place. It is not unlikely that
Parmenio also paid the last honors to that gallant
youth ; and both the veteran general, we may easily
believe, and Philotas felt that, while royal favor had
passed away, the casualties of war were pressing
heavy on their family — for the youngest brother
Hector had also perished.

One fact is certain — Parmenio had refused to obey
orders. Alexander had commanded him to advance
from Media, through Cadusia, into Hyrcania. And
the king's western march into the territories of the
Mardi was apparently undertaken for the sake of
giving him the meeting. But neither Parmenio nor
his troops appear to have quitted the walls of Ecba-
tana.

Had Alexander fallen by the hand of Dymnus, or
some such desperado, Philotas, the commander of
the Companion cavalry, would undoubtedly have been
entitled to the command of the army ; and as Ecba-
tana and the treasures were in the power of Parmenio,
the empire would have been completely at the dis-
posal of the father and son. The Macedonian nobles
were a turbulent race, who scrupled not, on what they

196 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 330.

conceived adequate provocation, or even prospect of
personal advantage, to dip their hands in the blood
of their sovereigns. Of the eight immediate prede-
cessors of Alexander died only two a natural death;
one fell in battle ; five perished by the blow of assas-
sins. Without taking these things into considera-
tion, it is impossible to understand the difficulties of
the young king's position, or to form a just estimate
of his character. In the present instance his con-
duct was most constitutional, for all authors agree in
the three following points : — that the trial was public,
that a majority of the assembled Macedonians pro-
nounced the sentence of condemnation, and that this
majority carried their own sentence into execution.

The most painful and difficult question remained
— to decide the fate of Parmenio. Diodorus writes
that he also was condemned by the assembly ; but
his authority is not sufficient in this case. " Per-
haps," says Arrian, " it seemed incredible to Alex-
ander that the father should not have been a partici-
pator in the plots of the son. Even were he not an
accomplice, he might prove a dangerous survivor, ex-
asperated by the death of his son, and so highly hon-
ored not only by Alexander and the Macedonians, but
by the whole body of mercenaries in the army, whom,
both on ordinary and extraordinary occasions, he had
commanded with the greatest applause."

It wras decreed that he should die. Polvdamas,
one of the Companions, was dispatched to Media,
with a letter from the king to Sitalces, Menidas, and
Oleander, the lieutenants of Parmenio, ordering them

^Etat. 26.] DEATH OF PARMENIO. 197

to put their chief to death. The headquarters of the
army were then in Drangiana, the modern Zarang or
Zaringe of the Arab geographers, situated on the
northern bank of the great river Heermund, the
ancient Etymander. This, on the map, is five hun-
dred and sixty miles from Ecbatana or Ispahan ; yet
Polydamas, according to Strabo, mounted on a
dromedary, crossed the desert, and reached the city in
eleven days. The generals obeyed, and Parmenio died.
Three sons of Andromenes — Amyntas, Attalus,
and Simmias — were also brought to trial, principally
on account of the great intimacy and confidence that
had always subsisted between the eldest of .them and
Philotas. The danger of these young men had been
much increased by the conduct of Polemon, a fourth
brother, who, on hearing of the apprehension of Phil-
otas, deserted to the enemy. Amyntas, however,
made a powerful defence before the assembly, re-
pelled the charges, and was acquitted. Tie then
asked the assembly's permission to go and seek his
fugitive brother. It was granted. He went in search
of him, found him, and persuaded him to return
and submit to the law. If any doubts remained be-
fore, they were removed by this open and sincere
behavior of Amyntas. Alexander, the Lyncestian,
who had now been three years in custody, was also
tried, condemned, and executed by the great jury of
the assembly. Demetrius, one of the generals of the
body-guard, soon after fell under suspicion of having
been deeply implicated in the treason' of Philotas.
He was, therefore, consigned to safe custody, and

198 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 380.

Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, the personal and early
friend of Alexander, promoted to rill the vacancy.

It is clear that this affair must have rudely shaken
the unlimited confidence with which Alexander had
hitherto treated his friends, and that henceforth he
judged greater caution necessary. The command of
the Companion cavalry, so superior both in rank and
gallantry to all the rest, was no longer trusted to one
individual. It was separated into two bodies, and
Cleitus was appointed to the command of one, and
Hephsestion of the other division.

From Drangiana Alexander marched up the Heer-
mund, and arrived among a peaceful and civilized
nation, that once had borne the name of Agriaspse,
but were then called Euergeta? or Benefactors. This
honorable appellation had been bestowed upon them
by Cyrus the Great, whose army, exhausted by hun-
ger and fatigue, in returning from an expedition,
were relieved and refreshed by the active kindness
of the tranquil and agricultural people. Alexander
treated them with marked attention, both on account
of their excellent character, and from respect for the
first Cyrus, whom he held in great admiration. He
offered them an increase of territory, vrhich, with the
exception of a small corner, they had the moderation
to refuse. Probably they were an Assyrian colony,
attracted by the copious streams of the Heermund,
and the delightfulness of the climate. Even as late
as the tenth centurv, Ebn Haukal describes the vale
of the Heermund as populous, and covered with
cities. From Bost to the lake Zurrah, it was inter-

Mtat. 26.] THE AGRIASP^. 199

sected with canals, like the land of Egypt. At pres-
ent the cultivated strip on both sides the river is very
narrow.

From the Agriaspse the king marched eastward,
and as he advanced, received the submission of the
Drangae, the Drangogse, and the Arachosians. While
he was thus employed, Satibarzanes made an irrup-
tion into Areia at the head of 2,000 Bactrian cavalry,
granted to him by Bessus, and succeeded in organiz-
ing a formidable insurrection. The Persian Arta-
bazus, Erigyius, and Caranus, were sent back to sup-
press this, and Pharataphernes the Parthian satrap,
was ordered to invade Areia from the west. Sati-
barzanes stood his ground, and fought a well-contested
battle ; nor had the barbarians the worst, until
Erigyius with his own hand slew their general, pierc-
ing him in the face with his lance. The Asiatics then
fled, and Erigyius had the honor of being the first
Macedonian in Asia, who carried away what the Ro-
mans would have called the u Spolia Opima," the
arms of a commander in chief, won in single combat
by an opponent of the same rank.

Alexander, with the main army, still continued
their advance, and toiled over the mountains of Can-
dahar in deep snow, and with great labor. They
then approached the southern foot of the great range
of mountains, which hitherto they had called Taurus,
but to the eastern part of which they now, in com-
pliment to the king, gave the name of Caucasus. The
more accurate geographers, however, call it Paropa-
misus. There Alexander founded and called after

200

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

[B.C. 330.

his own name a city, which, as I shall have occasion
to show in describing the march from Bactria into
India, could not have been far from the modern Ca-
bul. Here he remained for two months, until the
severity of the winter had relaxed.

CHAPTER X.

THE SIXTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 329.

With the spring the army moved from its winter
quarters, and in fifteen days crossed the main ridge
of mountains that separated the southern provinces
from Bactria. Aristobulus writes that nothing grew
on these hills hut pines and the herb silphium, from
which the laserpitium of the Romans, and the benzoin
of the Orientals was extracted. This drug, so highly
prized by the ancients, is, according to naturalists,
the modern assafoetida ; if so, taste must have
strangely altered during the last 2,000 years. The
hills, however, were well inhabited by pastoral tribes,
whose flocks and herds grazed the silphium, a nourish-
ing and favorite food. On reaching Adrapsa, on the
northern side, the Macedonians found the whole coun-
try laid waste by Bessus and his supporters ; their
hope was to prevent the advance of Alexander by this
system of devastation. But, in Arrian's simple style,
" Alexander advanced nevertheless, with difficulty,
indeed, on account of the deep snow, and in want of
all necessaries, but still he advanced.'' When Bessus
heard that the king was not far off, his heart failed
him, and he and his associates crossed the Oxus and
entered Sogdiv<ma. Seven thousand Bactrian cavalry,

201

202 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

who had hitherto followed his banner, refused to
abandon their country, disbanded and returned to
their several homes. The Macedonians soon after
captured Bactria and Arnus, the two chief cities,
and effectually relieved themselves from all their
difficulties. Thus, Memnon's plan may be said to
have been fairly tried, by Bessus, and to have utterly
failed ; in fact, the only case where such a sys-
tem can succeed, is where there is some great barrier
within which the invaded can defy the attack of the
invader.

Bactria, the modern Balk, and once called Zari-
aspa, was built on the banks of a considerable stream,
which flowing down from the Paropamisus, entered
the Oxus about a day's journey to the north of Bac-
tria. In the days of the Arabian geographers, the
whole of its waters were expended in irrigation, long
before its junction with the Oxus; and this probably
is its present state. Balk, although fallen from its
regal magnificence, is still a considerable city. The
whole district followed the fate of the capital, and
submitted to the conqueror, who appointed Artabazus
to the vacant satrapy.

He then prepared to cross the Oxus and pursue
Bessus into the Transoxiana of the Romans, the
Mawaralnahr of the Arabians ; but the Thessalian
and confederate troops, who had volunteered at the
commencement of the last campaign, had been sick-
ened by the snow, the cold, and the hunger to which
they had been lately exposed ; Alexander, therefore,
seeing the state of their minds, gave them leave to re-

-ffitat. 27.] COURSE OF THE OXUS. 203

turn home. At the same time a scrutiny took place
among the Macedonian soldiers, and all whom age,
wounds, or other infirmities, had rendered either
unable or unwilling to encounter further hardships,
were sent home with the Thessalians.

Aristobulus describes the Oxus as six stadia, or
something less than half a mile broad. This great
stream presented a formidable obstacle to the north-
ern progress of Alexander. Many attempts were
made to construct piers on the bank, but as it con-
sisted of a loose sandy soil, the short piles formed
from the stunted timber to be procured in the vici-
nity, were swallowed, and no solid work could be
constructed. The king, however, was not to be baffled
by these untoward circumstances ; floats were formed,
supported on hides, either inflated, or stuffed with
hay and rendered waterproof; and on these frail
barks the whole army was ferried across in the course
of five days.

As soon as the Macedonians had gained the right
bank, Spitamenes, satrap of Sogdiana, and Datapher-
nes, two of the leading Persians who had hitherto
adhered to Bessus, sent messengers to Alexander,
promising, were a small force with a respectable
commander sent to strengthen their hands, to deliver
up Bessus, whom they had already placed under
arrest. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was sent for-
wards, with a small but select force, and his account
of the transaction must certainly be regarded as the
most authentic.

He advanced with great rapidity, and in four

204 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

days traversed a space equal to ten ordinary marches.
On approaching the enemy, he was informed that
Spitamenes and Dataphernes, scrupled actually to
deliver Bessus into the hands of the Macedonians,
but that the pretender to the empire of Asia was left
almost destitute of troops in a walled village.
Thither Ptolemy proceeded, and made himself mas-
ter of the person of Bessus without encountering
the slightest resistance. As soon as he had thus suc-
cessfully executed his commission, he wrote to the
king for instructions as to the manner in which he
was to conduct the prisoner into his presence. The
answer was, to deprive him of his arms, to place a
rope round his neck, and thus conduct him to meet
Alexander.

Ptolemy obeyed, and when the king appeared,
drew his prisoner to one side of the road. Alexander,
when opposite, stopped his chariot, and asked Bessus
why he had seized, bound, and murdered his kinsman
and benefactor, Darius ? The unfortunate man an-
swered, that it was not his individual deed ; that all
the satraps had concurred with him in the necessity
of the measure, and that their common object was to
secure the favor of Alexander. This excuse, false
certainly in its latter part, was not received. Bessus
was publicly scourged, while a herald announced to
all the nature of his offence, and was sent to Bactria,
there to await his final doom. Alexander then
marched onwards, and arrived at Maracanda, the
modern Samarcand.

Many readers may imagine that the Macedonians

iEtat. 27.] BOKHARA. 205

had now been conducted into sandy deserts and barren
regions, where all was desolate, and the necessaries
of life could scarcely be procured; but the contrary
was the case, for, according to the Arabian geo-
graphers, who were intimately acquainted with every
part of the country, there cannot under the sun be
found more delightful spots than in Mawaralnahr,
between the Oxus and Jaxartes, the Jihoon, and the
Sihoon. The valley, Al Sogd, (whence the Greek
Sogdiana,) with Samarcand at its upper and Bokhara
at its lower end, is in an especial manner celebrated
by them, as one of the terrestrial paradises. " In all
the regions of the earth, (writes Ebn Haukal, the
great traveller and geographer,) there is not a more
delightful and flourishing country than Mawaralnahr,
especially the district of Bokhara. If a person stand
on its ancient citadel and cast his eyes around,
nothing is visible on any side but beautiful green
and luxuriant herbage, so that he might imagine the
green of the earth and the azure of the skies to be
blended with each other; and as there are verdant
fields in every quarter, so there are villas inter-
spersed among them."

" It is said, (writes the same author) that in all
the world there are not more delightful places than
the sogd (vale) of Samarcand, the rood Aileh, (near
Balsora,) and the ghouteh of Damascus; but the
ghouteh of Damascus is within one farsang of barren
and dry hills, without trees, and it contains many
spots which are desolate and without verdure. A
fine prospect ought to be such as completely fills the

206 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

eye, and nothing should be visible but sky and green.
The riverAileh affords this kind of prospect for one
farsing only, and the verdant spot is either sur-
rounded by or opposite to a dreary desert. But the
vales, and buildings, and cultivated plains of Bok-
hara, extend above thirteen farsangs by twelve, and
the sogd, for eight days' journey, is all delightful
country, affording fine prospects, and full of gardens,
orchards, villages, corn-fields, villas, running streams,
reservoirs, and fountains, both on the right and left
hand. You pass from corn fields into rich meadows ;
and the sogd is far more healthy than the rood Aileh
and the ghouteh of Damascus, and its fruit is the
finest in the world."

Alexander remained for some time in this delight-
ful region, where he remounted his cavalry, as the
loss of horses of every kind had been great during the
winter operations, and the passage of the Paropa-
misus. In an attack on a hill fortress, the position
of which is doubtful, as Arrian places it near the
Jaxartes, Curtius, between the Oxus and Maracanda,
he received a severe wound from an arrow, which
splintered a portion of one of the bones of his leg,
and long incapacitated him from active duty. He
could not, however, remain quiet until the wound was
thoroughly healed, but caused himself to be carried
j in a litter wherever he judged his presence necessary.
A dispute took place, consequently, between the car-
alrv and the infantry: — to which belonged the
privilege of carrying their wounded king. This

Malt. 27.] REVOLT OF BACTRIA. 207

Alexander decided with his usual judgment, by
devolving the duty alternately on both parties.

All Transoxiana had now acknowledged his author-
ity, and every important city had admitted a Mace-
donian garrison; he himself had advanced to the
Jaxartes or Sihoon, and fixed upon the site of a new
town, to be called Alexandria, which he expected
would in time prove a great and flourishing city,
when suddenly the Sogdians and Bactrians rose up
in arms and expelled or massacred most of the Mace-
donian garrisons.

There can be no doubt of the connection of Spi-
tamenes and the other accomplices of Bessus with
this insurrection ; their reception from Alexander
was probably not very cordial, nor do we read of
any re-appointments to their governments, as had
invariably been the case on previous occasions. It
appears also to me, that Alexander deeply erred in
ordering Bessus to be scourged publicly for his
crimes. That lord belonged to the highest order
of nobility, and was entitled to great privileges.
Xenophon informs us, that when Orontes had been
condemned to death for his treachery to Cyrus the
Younger, and was in the act of being led to execution,
all men prostrated themselves before him, as usual.
It may be inferred that the feelings of the Persians
were as much outraged by the degrading punishment
of Bessus, as those of the English nobility would be,
were they to see a Duke of Norfolk or Northumber-
land flogged by the hands of the common hangman
through the streets of London.

208 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

Alexander had summoned an assembly, to be com-
posed of all the leading men in the country. The
object probably was to settle the government and the
collection of the revenues on the plan most agreeable
to the men of influence. But Spitamenes, an able
and active man, took occasion from this to convey
private intelligence to all summoned, announcing that
the object of the invader was to seize and massacre
them all. The consequence was the general revolt, in
which the people in the immediate vicinity of Alex-
ander and his army joined. The inhabitants of
these provinces were not only more warlike than the
nations hitherto subdued, but connected by blood and
international communication with the powerful Scy-
thian tribes to the north of the Jaxartes and to the
east of Sogdiana and Bactria, who, as afterwards
plainly appeared, had promised to aid Spitamenes
and his associates. The emergency, therefore, was
such as to call forth all the energies of Alexander.

The inhabitants of the populous vale on the left
bank of the Jaxartes — called in modern times the
districts of Fergana and Al-Hash — had taken refuge
in seven fortified cities. The walls were formed of
indurated earth or mud, being the same materials still
used in that country for like purposes.

Alexander, having ordered Craterus to march
against Cyropolis, the chief city, (probably the
modern Chojand,) proceeded in person to Gaza, one
of the towns. The troops formed a circle round it —
with the archers, slingers, and dartmen in the rear.
These, while the soldiers were marching to the esca-

Mtsit 27.] CAPTURE OF CYROPOLIS. 209

lade, cleared the walls of their defenders, by the clouds
of missiles which they discharged ; the ladders were
then applied, and the Macedonians mounted the
walls. The men were put to the sword, the women
and children were spared. The army was then led
to the next town, which was fortified in the same
manner — and captured by the same means. Next
day, a third city experienced the like fate. While
the infantry were thus employed, the cavalry was
sent to watch two other cities, lest the inhabitants,
taking warning from the fate of their neighbors,
should seek refuge in the desert or among the
mountains, where pursuit would be impossible. The
inhabitants of these, as Alexander had foreseen,
learning the fate of the others from the smoke of the
conflagration, and from chance fugitives, attempted
to escape in a body, but were overtaken by the cavalry
and mostly cut to pieces.

Having thus captured five towns in the short space
of three days, the king joined Craterus under the
walls of Cyropolis, the capital. This town had been
founded by the great Cyrus, as a barrier against the
Scythians. Its fortifications were more formidable,
and it was garrisoned by eighteen thousand of the
bravest barbarians of the vicinity. Engines were,
therefore, constructed, and preparations made to bat-
ter down the walls, and form breaches in the regular
way. But as he was carefully examining the walls,
he discovered the channel of a stream, which in
winter ran through the city, but was then dry. The

aperture between the wall and the bed of the torrent
14

210 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

was large enough to permit the entrance of single
soldiers. He himself, with a few others, crept
into the citv bv this inlet, while the attention of the
besieged was fixed upon the operations of the en-
gineers. The party having thus gained entrance,
rushed to the nearest gate, broke it open, and
admitted the guards, the archers, and Agrians, who
had been drawn up in front of the gate for the very
purpose. The garrison surprised, but not dismayed,
bravely charged the assailants, and nearly succeeded
in expelling them. Alexander himself received a
stunning blow from a stone, on the nape of his neck,
and Craterus was wounded by an arrow. The Mace-
donians at last drove the garrison from the streets
and the market place into the citadel. But as this
was not supplied with water, ten thousand men sur-
rendered at discretion in the course of the following
day; and the seventh and last city followed their
example. The prisoners were divided among the
soldiers, in order to be conveved out of the country —
it being Alexander's fixed resolution not to leave in
Sogdiana a single individual who had been actively
engaged in this insurrection.

The necessity of these rapid and energetic meas-
ures became manifest, when the right bank of the
Jaxartes was seen crowded bv Scvthian cavalrv,
eager to render assistance to the insurgents.

These Scythians, so much extolled by the sophists,
and even poets, of Greece and Rome, for their vir-
tues and the happy simplicity of their lives, have, in
all recorded ages, been the curse of the civilized

JEtat. 27.] SCYTHIAN NOMADS. 211

world. Issuing in all directions from the steppes of
Tartary, they have spread ruin and desolation over
the fairest portions of our globe. Their habits and
j)ractices have been the same for five-and-twenty
centuries, and under the various names of Cimmer-
ians, Trerians, Scythians, Getse, Tochari, Parthians,
Goths, Huns, Mongols, Zagataians, Tartars, Turks,
and Turkomans, they have never ceased to be the
scourge of agricultural Asia and Europe; nor will
anything ever stay this plague but the introduction
of European arts and sciences among the peaceful
inhabitants of the banks of the great Asiatic rivers.
Alexander had already come in contact with their kin-
dred tribes, to the west of the Euxine — and he was
now destined to hear their taunts from the right
bank of the Jaxartes.

He was then engaged in founding and fortifying
that Alexandria which was named by the Greeks
Eschata or Extreme* This city is probably the
modern Aderkand on the left bank of the Jaxartes,
at the eastern end of the fertile district of Eergana.
Ebn Haukal says, " It enjoys the warmest climate
of any place in the district of Eergana. It is next
to the enemy, and is twice or thrice as large as Awash.
It has an ancient citadel, and suburbs, with groves
and gardens, and running streams." The army was
engaged for three weeks in fortifying this limitary
town. The termination of the labor was celebrated

* Alexandria Eschata is now identified with the modern
Khojend, a city of about 20,000 inhabitants, situated in
Russian Turkestan.

212 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

by the usual sacrifices and their accompanying festiv-
ities. The soldiers competed for prizes in horse
races, chariot races, and other trials of skill, strength,
and activity. The colonists, for the new city, were
selected indifferently from Greeks, barbarians, and
Macedonians.

But each returning day presented to the view of
Alexander the hated Scythians on the opposite bank.
They even shot their arrows across, as the river was
not broad in that quarter, and dared the Macedonians
to the combat, telling them that if they came over
they would soon be taught the difference between the
Scythians and the Asiatic barbarians.

Exasperated by these and similar taunts, Alexan-
der ordered floats and rafts, supported by inflated
skins and stuffed hides, to be constructed, for the
purpose of conveying the troops across. But the
sacrificial omens were pronounced by the diviners to
be most inauspicious. Aristander and his com-
panions were probably alarmed for the honor and
safety of the king. They must have known that the
Jaxartes was the river which, under the name of
Araxes, the great Cyrus had crossed previous to his
fatal defeat by the Scythian Massageta\ The nar-
row escape also of the first Darius, and the conse-
quent irruption of his pursuers into Thrace, had ren-
dered the Scythian name terrible in Greece. The
diviners, therefore, persisted in reporting bad omens ;
and Alexander, angry and indignant as he was, dared
not (nor would it have been wise) to disregard their
answers. The Scythians, however, still continued to

^tat. 27.] PASSAGE OF THE JAXARTES. 213

line the opposite bank, and he also persevered in con-
sulting the omens. He had no other choice ; he could
not march back into Sogdiana and Bactria to suppress
the rebellion, and leave the Scvthians to cross the
river without molestation. His perseverance suc-
ceeded, and Aristander at length pronounced the
omens favorable for the expedition, but that great
personal danger to the king was portended. By this
answer probably, he hoped to sooth the angry feelings
of Alexander, while he calculated that the great of-
ficers, supported by the voice of the army, would in-
terfere and prevent operations likely to prove fatal
to the sovereign. But Alexander declared that he
would run every risk rather than be braved and baf-
fled by the Scythians as the first Darius had been.

There is no reason to suspect any collusion between
him and the diviners. If any did exist, it was prob-
ably between the great officers and the latter. Aris-
tander's declaration was, " that he could not falsify
the omens, because Alexander wished them different."

The army was drawn up on the edge of the river
ready to embark. Behind the troops were placed the
engines, from which missiles of every kind were dis-
charged, in order to dislodge the enemy from the
opposite bank, and leave room for the soldiers to land.
The Scythians were terrified by the execution done
by the powerful catapults, especially when they saw
one of their chief warriors actually transfixed
through shield, breast-plate, and back-piece, by an
engine-dart. They, therefore, retired beyond the
reach of the missiles. The trumpets instantly gave

214 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

the signal, and the floats pushed from the shore,
headed as usual by Alexander in person. The first
division consisted of archers and slingers, who kept
the enemy at a distance, while the second division,
consisting of the phalanx, were landing and forming.
Alexander then ordered a troop of the mercenary
cavalry, and four troops of heavy lancers, to advance
and charge. The Scythians not only stood their
ground, but wheeled round the flanks of this small
body, and severely galled the men with their mis-
siles, while they easily eluded the direct charge of
the Macedonian horse.

As soon as Alexander had observed their mode of
fighting, he distributed the archers, Agrians, and
other light troops, between the ranks of the cavalry.
He then advanced, and when the lines were near, or-
dered three troops of the Companion cavalry, and all
the mounted dartmen, to attack from the flanks, while
he formed the remainder into columns, and charged
in front. The enemy were thus prevented from exe-
cuting their usual evolutions, for the cavalry pressing
upon them on every side, and the light troops min-
gling among them, made it unsafe for them either to
expose their flanks or to turn suddenly round. The
victory was decisive, and a thousand Scythian horse-
men were left dead on the field.

The pursuit was across a parched and sandy plain,
and the heat, for it was in the middle of summer,
was great and overpowering. Alexander, in order
to allay the thirst from which, in common with the
whole army, he suffered excessively, drank some

^Etat. 27.] DEFEAT OF THE SCYTHIANS. £15

brackish water, which, either from its own noxious
qualities, or from the overheated state of the king,
nearly proved fatal to him. The pursuit which, as
usual, was led by himself, was instantly stayed, and
he was carried back to the camp more dead than alive.
Thus the credit of Aristander was preserved.

Soon after an embassy arrived from the Scythian
king, imputing the late hostilities to bandit tribes,
that acted without the authority of the great council
of the nation, and professing the willingness of the
Scythian government to obey the commands of Alex-
ander. The apology was accepted, and the ambassa-
dors received with kindness. The rumor of the vic-
tory and of the consequent submission of the Scyth-
ians, hitherto regarded invincible, proved highly ad-
vantageous in repressing the further progress of the
insurrection. The Macedonians, either from igno-
rance or flattery, called the Jaxartes the Tanais, and
boasted that their victorious king had passed into
Europe through the north-western boundaries of
Asia.

This victory over the Scythians was very season-
able, as soon after the news arrived of the heaviest
blow that befell the Macedonian arms during the
whole war.

While Alexander was detained on the Jaxartes,
Spitamenes, at the head of the insurgent Sogdians,
had marched to Maracanda, gained possession of the
city, and besieged the Macedonian garrison in the
citadel. Alexander, on hearing this, dispatched to
the assistance of the besieged a reinforcement of

216 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

Greek mercenaries, consisting of fifteen hundred in-
fantry and eight hundred cavalry. To these were
added sixty of the Companions. The military com-
manders were Andromachus, Menedemus, and Cara-
nus. But these were ordered to act under the direc-
tion of Pharnuches, a Lycian, skilled in the lan-
guage of the country, and accounted an able negotia-
tor. Perhaps Alexander thought that, as the insur-
rection had principally been caused by a misconcep-
tion, Pharnuches would be more likely to suppress
it by explanations, than military men by the sword.

As soon as Spitamenes heard of their approach, he
raised the siege of the citadel, and retired down the
river Polytimetus towards the royal city of Sogdi-
ana. The Polytimetus is the modern Kohuk, and the
royal city is Bokhara, called by Ptolemy Tru-Bactra.
Spitamenes was pursued by the Greeks, who, in their
eagerness to expel him entirely from Sogdiana, fol-
lowed him into the territory of the Scythian nomads,
who possessed the great steppe between the Sogd and
the lake Aral. Its present inhabitants are Uzbeks.
The invasion of their territories roused the tribes of
the desert, and six hundred chosen horsemen joined
Spitamenes. Inspired by this accession of strength,
greater in name even than reality, the Persian halted
on the edge of the desert, and prepared to give his
pursuers battle; and the tactics, which the genius
and activity of Alexander had repeatedly baffled,
proved successful against commanders of less skill
and vigor.

Spitamenes neither charged himself, nor awaited

^Etat. 27.] VICTORY OF SPITAMENES. 217

the Macedonian charge; but his cavalry wheeled
round them in circular movements, and discharged
their arrows into the centre of the infantry. When
the Greek cavalry attacked, the Scythians easily
eluded them by the greater swiftness and freshness
of their horses. But the moment the assailants
halted or retired, the Scythians again returned and
resumed the'offensive. When many Greeks had been
thus wounded and a few slain, the generals formed
the whole into a square, and retreated in the direction
of the Polytimetus, in the vicinity of which a wooded
ravine seemed likely to protect them from the enemy's
missiles. But, on approaching the river, Caranus,
the commander of the cavalry, without communicat-
ing with Andromachus, the commander of the in-
fantry, attempted to cross, and thus give the cavalry
at least a chance of safety. The infantry being thus
deserted by their only protectors, broke their ranks,
and hurried in disorder, and without listening to the
voice of their officers, to the bank of the river. And
although this was high and precipitous, and the river
itself far larger than the Thessalian Peneius, they
rushed down the bank and into the stream, heedless
of consequences.

The enemy were not slow in taking advantage of
this disorder ; their cavalry rode into the river, and,
while some crossed, took possession of the opposite
bank, and drove such of the Greeks as reached it back
into the stream — others pressed from the rear, and
cut down those who were entering the water; large
parties stationed themselves on each flank, and

218 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

showered their darts and arrows upon the helpless
Greeks, who, being thus surrounded on all sides,
took refuge in a small island. But here they were
equally exposed to the arrows of the barbarians, who
did not cease to discharge them until they had de-
stroyed the whole. Only forty of the cavalry, and
three hundred of the infantry, returned to Mara-
canda from this scene of slaughter.

According to Aristobulus, Pharnuches, as soon as
the service appeared dangerous, wished to yield the
command to the generals, alleging that his commis-
sion extended only to negotiate, and not to fight.
But Andromachus and Caranus declined to take the
command, in opposition to the letter of the king's
commission, and in the hour of danger, when nothing
but great success could justify their assumption of it.
The victory of Spitamenes was, therefore, partly in-
sured by the anarchy and consequent indecision of the
Macedonians. The conqueror returned to Mara-
canda, and again invested the citadel.

When Alexander received information of this
serious defeat — the loss in which, from the constitu-
tion of a Greek army, cannot be stated at less than
five thousand men — he took with him one-half of
the Companion cavalry, the guards, the Agrians, the
archers, and the most active soldiers of the phalanx,
and, after a march of ninety miles, arrived at Mara-
canda on the morning of the fourth day. Spita-
menes did not await his approach, and retired as be-
fore to the desert. Alexander pressed him hard in
his retreat, until he arrived at the scene of the late

Mt&t. 27.] PERSIAN DRESS OF ALEXANDER. 219

disaster. The sight of his slaughtered soldiers, with
whose fate he deeply sympathized, arrested the pur-
suit, and the dead were buried with due honors. He
then turned his wrath against the inhabitants in the
vicinity, who had aided Spitamenes in the work of
destruction, and overran the whole country, until he
arrived at the spot where the Polytimetus, large as
it was, sunk into the sands of the desert.* After
this act of vengeance, Alexander conducted his troops
across the Oxus, and spent the winter at Bactria.
As the Sogdians were still in arms, it is evident that
some causes, of which we have been left ignorant,
caused this retrograde march.

During the short intervals between his almost in-
cessant military operations, Alexander had of late,
when appearing in his civil capacity, partially
adopted the Persian dress and regal costume. This
gave serious offence to many Macedonian veterans,
who could ill brook to see the barbarian cidaris on
the brow of an Heracleid prince, or his limbs envel-
oped in the loose folds of the Median robe. In their
opinion, it not only betrayed a degrading sympathy
with the feelings of the vanquished, but also fore-
boded a determination to claim the privileges, and
exert the unlimited authority, possessed by his prede-
cessors on the throne of Cyrus. They had long ago,
therefore, regarded this tendency to innovation with
a jealous eye.

*Such also was its termination in the days of the Arabian
geographers, and such probably it is now, although on modern
maps we see its stream conducted into the Oxus.

220 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

On the other hand, the Persian nobility were
naturally scandalized at the rude and boisterous man-
ners of the Macedonian officers, who, claiming almost
an equality with their sovereign, pressed into his
presence without any of those tokens of respect and
reverence which the Orientals in all ages have re-
garded as necessarily connected with the support of
kingly authority. They thought themselves, there-
fore, entitled to remonstrate with Alexander upon the
rude manners of his court, and press him to adopt
some of those ceremonies, the absence of which would
be certain in the end to draw upon him the contempt
of his eastern subjects.

ISTor could a man of Alexander's talents and knowl-
edge ever suppose, that the innumerable millions of
his acquired empire were to be governed by the brute
force of his few Macedonians. He was therefore, as
we shall hereafter see, more anxious to amalgamate
than to keep separate the Greek and Persian races.
But this could not be done without sacrifices on both
sides, and a mutual approximation to each other's
habits.

Of all the practices of the oriental courts, the cere-
mony called by the Chinese kotow, which enforces
prostration at the feet of the sovereign, is the most
repugnant to European feelings. Something simi-
lar, but not requiring so humiliating a posture, was
necessary on approaching the presence of the Persian
King of Kings. It consisted most probably of a low
inclination of the body, as we read that a sturdy
Spartan once satisfied the master of the ceremonies,

JEtat. 27.] ADORATION PROPOSED. 221

and at the same time his own conscience, by dropping
a ring, and stooping down to pick it up again in the
royal presence. The Greeks in general regarded
the ceremony as idolatrous, and as a species of adora-
tion due only to the gods. When, therefore, it was
proposed to pay the same outward respect to Alex-
ander, it could only be done by asserting, that he was
as much entitled to divine honors as Dionysus, Her-
cules, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux.

As far as I can trace, Alexander never attempted
to claim any other homage as a divinity; nor do I
find, from any respectable authority, that he ever as-
serted himself to be the son of Amnion. That such
a tale was whispered in the camp, and published both
in Europe and Asia, there is no doubt ; but it will be
difficult to show that Alexander treated it otherwise
than as an excellent subject for witty sayings and
good jokes.

Arrian's account of the first attempt to introduce
the adoration, is so descriptive of the feelings and
opinions upon the subject, that I cannot do better
than translate it. — It ought to be premised, that the
court of Alexander was frequented by many literary
characters, eager to see the new world opened to their
observations, and to gain the favor of the king.
Among these, Anaxarchus, a philosopher from Ab-
dera, and Agis, an Argive poet, whose verses, accord-
ing to Curtius, were inferior to the compositions even
of Choerilus, were supposed more eager to gratify
their great patron than to uphold their own dignity
and independence. — " It had been agreed (says my

222 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

author between the king, the sophists, and the most
respected Medes and Persians, to introduce the sub-
ject of adoration while the wine was going round.
Anaxarchus commenced by saying, — ' thatAlexander
could with far greater justice be deemed a divinity
than Dionysus and Hercules, both on account of the
numerous and splendid actions performed by him,
and because Dionysus was a Theban, having no con-
nection with the Macedonians, and because Hercules
was an Argive, equally unconnected with Macedonia,
except through the family of Alexander, who was an
Heracleid. It was also more proper for the Mace-
donians to distinguish their own sovereigns by divine
honors, especially when there could not be a doubt
that they would honor him as a god after his de-
parture from among men. Much more just would
it be, then, thus to honor him while living than after
his death, when all such distinctions would be un-
availing.'—

" When Anaxarchus had advanced these and simi-
lar arguments, those to whom the proposition had
been previously communicated applauded his speech,
and wished immediately to commence the adoration.
The majority of the Macedonians, although hostile to
the ceremony, remained silent; but Calisthenes took
up the question and spoke —

" i O Anaxarchus, Alexander in my opinion is
worthy of every honor which, without exceeding due
bounds, can be paid to a man ; but a strong line of
distinction has been drawn between divine and hu-
man honors. We honor the gods in various ways — i

JEtat. 27.] OPPOSED BY CALISTHENES. 223

by building temples, erecting statues, exempting
ground consecrated to them from profane uses; by
sacrificing, pouring libations, and composing hymns
in their praise — but principally by adoration. Men
are kissed by those who salute them; but the divin-
ity, seated aloft, beyond the reach of the touch of
man, is honored by adoration. The worship of the
gods is also celebrated with dances and sacred songs.
]^or ought we to wonder at this marked line of dif-
ference, for even different gods have different honors
paid to them, and those assigned to deified heroes are
distinctly separated from those paid to the divinity.
It is unbecoming, therefore, to confound all these
distinctions, and to swell men by excessive honors
beyond their fair proportion, and thus, as far as de-
pends upon us, by granting equal honors to men, de-
grade the gods to an unseemly humiliation. Even
Alexander himself would not tolerate the conduct of
any private individual, who might attempt by illegal
suffrages and election to arrogate royal honors to
himself; with much greater justice will the anger of
the gods be excited against those men, who either
themselves arrogate divine honors, or permit others
to claim such for them.

" ' But Alexander beyond comparison is, and has
the reputation of being, the bravest of brave men,
the most princely of kings, and the most consum-
mate general. And you, O Anaxarchus, who asso-
ciate with Alexander for the purpose of being his in-
structor in philosophy, ought to be the first in en-

224 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

forcing the principles laid down by me, and in coun-
teracting the contrary.

" ' In you, therefore, it was highly unbecoming to
introduce this proposal, and to forget that you are
the companion and adviser, not of a Cambyses or a
Xerxes, but of the son of Philip, by birth a Hera-
cleid and an ^Eacide, whose ancestors emigrated from
Argos to Macedonia, and whose family, for succes-
sive generations, has reigned over Macedonia, not by
tyrannical force, but according to the laws. !N"o
divine honors were paid by the Greeks even to Her-
cules while living, nor yet after his death until the
oracle of Delphi had enjoined them to worship him
as a god.

" ' But if we are to adopt the spirit of barbarians
because we are few in number in this barbarous land;
I call upon you, O Alexander, to remember Greece;
and that the whole object of your expedition was its
welfare, and to subject Asia to Greece, not Greece
to Asia. Consider therefore whether it be vour in-
tention after your return to exact adoration from the
Greeks, who of all men enjoy the greatest freedom,
or to spare the Greeks, and impose this degradation
on the Macedonians alone ; or, finally, to be honored
by the Greeks and Macedonians as a man and a
Greek, and only by the barbarians according to their
own fashion ?

" l But since it is said that Cyrus, the son of Cam-
byses, was the first who was adored among men, and
that from his time this humiliating ceremony has
continued among the Medes and Persians, recall to

JEtat. 27.J THE CEREMONY. 225

your memory, that the Scythians poor and indepen-
dent, chastised his pride — that the insolence of
Darius was checked by their European countrymen
— that Xerxes was brought to a proper sense of feel-
ing by the Athenians and Lacedemonians — Artax-
erxes by Clearchus and Xenophon with the ten thou-
sand— and Darius by Alexander, not yet adored.' "

Thus far I have transcribed the words of Arrian
— Calisthenes, (he proceeds to say,) by these and sim-
ilar arguments, excessively annoyed Alexander, but
spoke in unison with the feelings of the Macedonians.
The king, observing this, sent round to inform them,
that the adoration or prostration was not expected
from them. As soon as silence had been restored,
the Persians of the highest rank rose and performed
the ceremony in order. Leonnatus, one of the Com-
panions, as a Persian was performing his salaam
without much elegance, ridiculed the posture of the
performer as most degrading. This drew upon him
at the time the severe animadversion of Alexander,
who however again admitted him to favor.

The following account has been also recorded.
Alexander pledged the whole circle in a golden cup,
which was first carried to those with whom the cere-
mony of the adoration had been previously arranged.
The first who received it, drained the cup, rose up,
made his adoration, and was kissed by Alexander;
and the cup thus passed in succession through the
whole party. But when it came to the turn of Calis-
thenes to pledge the king, he rose up, and drained the
cup; but, without performing the ceremony, ap-
15

226 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

proached the king with the intention of kissing him.
Alexander at the moment was conversing with
Ilephsestion, and had not observed whether Calis-
thenes had performed the ceremony or not ; but De-
metrius, the son of Pythonax, one of the Companions,
told him, as Calisthenes was approaching, that he had
neglected the ceremony; the king, therefore, refused
the salute, on which the philosopher turned on his
heel and said, " Then I return the poorer by a kiss."

It is evident from this account, that the divine
honors respecting which the southern Greeks so ex-
travagantly calumniated Alexander, were no more
than the prostration or bending of the person, which
the etiquette of the Persian court exacted from all
subjects on approaching the royal presence. Whether
it was prudent in Alexander to show an inclination
to require it from the Macedonians is another ques-
tion. He evidently was a great admirer of the writ-
ings of Xenophon, who had highly eulogized his per-
fect prince for the supposed institution of this and
other ceremonies. The question was agitated at this
period with great heat, and was productive of better
animosities between the two parties, and finally ter-
minated in the Greatest calamitv of Alexander's life.

Cleitus, called by Plutarch Cleitus the Black, was
the brother of Larnice, the lady who had actuallv
nursed the infant Alexander, although the superin-
tendence had been entrusted to her mother Helhe-
nic<\ Alexander's attachment to his nurse had ex-

* It was this sardonic spirit of Calisthenes that finally
brought him to his end. See below, p. 254 ff.

iEtat. 27.] CLEITUS. 227

tended to her family, and when his two foster broth-
ers had fallen by his side in battle, Cleitus became
the favored representative of the family. During
the first four camjDaigns, he had been the commander
of the royal troop of the Companion cavalry, whose
especial duty it was to guard the king's person on the
clay of battle. We have already seen how well he
performed his duty in the battle on the Granicus,
and how his services had been rewarded with the
2ommand, after the death of Philotas, of half the
Companion cavalry. The importance of this office
may be inferred from the circumstance mentioned
by Arrian, that Perdiccas, when dividing the sa-
trapies of the empire among the great officers, re-
served to himself the command of the Companion
:avalry, " which was in fact the regency of the whole
empire." Cleitus, therefore, was not only the con-
fidential friend of Alexander, but one of the highest
officers in the Macedonian camp.

While Alexander continued in his winter quar-
ters at Bactra, the day came round which the Mace-
donians held sacred as the festival of Dionysus or
Bacchus. The king had hitherto religiously ob-
served it with all the due sacrifices and ceremonies;
but on the present occasion he neglected Dionysus,
and devoted the day to the Dioscuri, Castor and Pol-
lux.

The ancient Persians, whose origin was probably
Scythian, were deep drinkers. Darius, the son of
ETystaspes, caused it to be recorded in his epitaph,
'hat, among other laudable qualifications, he could

228 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

bear more wine than any of his subjects. Alexan-
der unfortunately for himself, preferred the deep
carousals of the barbarians to the sober habits of the
Greeks, and his winter quarters were often charac-
terized by prolonged sittings and excessive drinking.
Like many other men, the King appears to have
found it more easy to practise abstemiousness as a
general rule, than temperance on particular occa-
sions.

On this dav, the conversation had naturally turned
upon the exploits of Castor and Pollux, and many
of the guests, certainly not without reason, affirmed
that their deeds were not to be named in comparison
with the achievements of Alexander. Others of the
company were not more favorable to the pretensions
of Hercules, and both parties agreed that envy alone
prevented men from paying equal honors to living
merit. Cleitus, who had ere now testified his con-
tempt for the barbaric innovations of Alexander, and
the baseness of his flatterers, being much excited by
wine, exclaimed that he would no longer allow the
exploits of the deified heroes of ancient days to be
thus undervalued ; that the personal achievements of
Alexander were neither great, wonderful, nor worthy
to be compared to the actions of the demigods ; that
alone he had done nothing, and that his victories
were the work of the Macedonians.

This argument was retorted by the opponent*, as
being equally applicable to the actions of Philip, the
favorite hero of the veteran, while they insisted that,
with the same means and with the same Macedonians,

iEtat. 27.] DEATH OF CLEITUS. 229

Alexander had infinitely surpassed his father in the
magnitude and glory of his deeds. On this Cleitus
lost all self-command, and began to exaggerate be-
yond measure the actions of the father, and to dero-
gate from the honors of the son. He loudly re-
minded Alexander that it was he, one of Philip's
veterans, who had saved his life, when he had turned
his back to Spithridates, and he repeatedly extended
his right hand in an insolent and boastful manner,
calling out, " This hand, O Alexander, — this hand
saved your life on that day ! "

The King, who was also under the excitement of
wine, unable any longer to endure the drunken inso-
lence of an officer, whose especial duty it was to
check all such conduct in others, sprung at Cleitus
in his wrath, but was held back by the company.
Cleitus, however, did not cease to utter the most in-
sulting and irritating language. Alexander then
loudly called for his guards, remonstrated with those
who had detained him, complained that he was as
much a prisoner as Darius had been in the hands of
Bessus, and that he was king only in name. With
that he broke with violence from the hands of his
friends, sprung forwards, tore a lance from a sen-
tinel's hand, and thrust it through the unfortunate
Cleitus, who fell dead on the spot.

Aristobulus writes, and it is the more probable ac-
count, that when Alexander first sprung from his seat
and was restrained by his friends, others of the party
hurried Cleitus out of the banqueting room, and that
he even reached the quarters of Ptolemy, the son of

230 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

Lagus, the commander of the guard. But as Alexan-
der, in a paroxysm of frenzy, was loudly calling
him by name, he rushed back into the room with these
words, " Here am I, Cleitus, for you, O Alexander ! '
and was instantly slain.

The sight of blood, and the completion of his in-
sane vengeance, produced the natural and usual effect,
and the King was immediately restored to reason.
His first impulse was to place the shaft of the lance
against the wall and to rush upon the point ; but his
friends prevented him, and conveyed him to his
chamber, where he remained for three days, incon-
solable, without eating or drinking.

" I blame Cleitus severely," says Arrian, " for his
insolence to his sovereign, and I pity the misfortune
of Alexander, who thus proved himself the slave of
two evils, wine and anger, by neither of which ought
a temperate man to be overcome. But I praise Alex-
ander for his subsequent conduct, as he became in-
stantly conscious of having perpetrated an atrocious
deed." " The majority of historians write that he
retired to his chamber and lav there lamenting and
calling on Cleitus by name, and on his sister, Lar-
nice, his nurse, and saying how generously he, when
grown up, had repaid her fostering care. Her sons
had already fallen in battle in his defence, and now
he, with his own hand, had murdered her brother.
He did not cease to call himself the murderer of his
friend, and obstinately abstained for three days, not
only from food and drink, but also from all atten-
tion to his person."

JEtat. 27.] SECOND SCYTHIAN EMBASSY. 231

By degrees he allowed his friends to mitigate the
violence of his grief, and especially listened to the
consolations of Aristander, who imputed the misfor-
tune to the immediate displeasure of Dionysus, who
had thus severely punished the King for the neglect
with which he had been treated. He, therefore, of-
fered an extraordinary sacrifice to the Theban god,
and was happy to impute the rash deed to the anger
of a deity and not to his own infirmity of temper.
It may be added, that the extreme irritation, and
consequent frenzy, displayed by Alexander on this
melancholy occasion, may have partly been caused
by the severe blow in the nape of the neck and back
of the head, which he had received the preceding
summer in the assault of Cyropolis.

^Numerous recruits from southern Greece and
Macedonia joined the winter quarters at Bactra,
where probably also Alexander heard of the defeat
of Agis, king of Sparta, and his allies, by the regent
Antipater. Curtius writes that the first informa-
tion of the actual commencement of hostilities did
not reach Alexander before his first visit to Bactra.
And the expressions of ^Eschines, as to the situation
of Alexander at that period, can only be applicable
to his Bactrian and Sogdian campaigns.

A second embassy from the king of the Scythians
brought valuable presents, and offered the daughter
of their sovereign in marriage. Alexander received
them kindly as before, but declined the honor of a
Scythian connection.

To Bactra also came Pharasmanes, king of the

232 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 329.

Chorasmians, escorted by fifteen hundred cavalry.
His object was to pay his respects to the conqueror of
Asia, and to offer his services in guiding and provis-
ioning the army, if the king wished to subdue the na-
tions to the north and west of the Caspian sea.
Pharasmanes was treated with due honors, and told
to place himself in communication with Artabazus,
satrap of Bactria. Alexander declined his offers for
the present, as he was anxious to enter India ; but
added that it was his intention at a future period to
conduct a large naval and land force into the Euxine,
where the co-operation of the king of Chorasmia
would be thankfully received.

This Chorasmia, unknown to the ancient geo-
graphers, is the modern Kharasm, of which the pres-
ent capital is Khiva, situated in the delta of the
Oxus, not much inferior in population and magni-
tude to the delta of the Nile. Had Alexander known
of its proximity to the Sogd, he would in all prob-
ability have paid it a visit. But we cannot doubt
that Pharasmanes represented it as far more dis-
tant than it really was, since he spoke of " his neigh-
bors the Colchians and Amazons." This is also
evident from the supposition of Alexander, that the
king of Kharasm, on the lake Aral, could aid his
operations in the Euxine. The omission to trace
the course and ascertain the termination of the great
rivers Oxus and Jaxartes was contrary to Alexander's
usual habits of research, and eagerness to extend the
boundaries of the known world. For this, perhaps,
two reasons may be given: the want of ship timber

JStat. 27.] MUTILATION OF BESSUS. 233

in Bactria and Sogdiana; and the King's expecta-
tion that his future operations in the Caspian would
leave nothing obscure in that quarter.

Before he left Bactra, the unfortunate Bessus was
brought before an assembly, condemned to have his
nose and ears mutilated, and to be sent to Ecbatana
to meet his fate in the great council of the Medes and
Persians.

CHAPTER XI.

SEVENTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 328.

Bactria and Sogdiana were still in a state of in-
surrection, as well as Margiana; Alexander, there-
fore, left Craterus with four lieutenants to subdue
and pacify the Bactrians, while he himself a second
time crossed the Oxus. He entered Sogdiana, and
separated his army into five divisions; he himself
commanded one, the others were led by Hephsestion,
Perdiccas, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and Coenus.
These, after scouring the country in all directions,
and reducing the strongholds of the insurgents,
united under the walls of Maracanda. Hence He-
pha?stion was sent to found a city at the lower end
of the Sogd, and Coenus, supported by Artabazus,
marched eastward towards the Massagetse, in whose
territories Spitamenes was said to have taken refuge.
Alexander himself marched northward, and subdued
most of the insurgents, who still held out in that
quarter. But Spitamenes, finding Sogdiana thus
guarded against his operations, changed the scene of
action. He persuaded 600 Massageta? to join his
Bactrian and Sogdian troops in an expedition into
Bactria. Thev crossed to the left bank of the Oxus,
took by storm a border fortress, and advanced within

234

Mtat. 28.] INSURRECTION. 235

sight of the capital itself. With the assistance of
the Scythians he gathered together a large booty,
principally flecks and herds, with which he prepared
to return to the desert.

There happened to be then stationed at Bactra a
few of the Companion cavalry and other soldiers,
who were recovering their health and strength after
wounds and illness. These, indignant at the inso-
lence of the Scythians, sallied forth, and by the sud-
denness of their attack dispersed the enemy, and were
in the act of returning with the rescued booty; but,
not conducting themselves with sufficient attention to
the rules of discipline, (as their most effective com-
manders were Peithon, master of the king's house-
hold, and Aristonicus, a minstrel) they were over-
taken and nearly all destroyed by Spitamenes. Pei-
thon was taken prisoner, but the minstrel fought and
fell like a brave man, — contrary (says Arrian) to
what might have been expected from one of his craft.
The observation of Arrian proves that the minstrels
of his days were not the same characters as in the
time of Alexander. Aristonicus was a minstrel who
recited heroic poems to his harp — one of the ancient
rhapsodists, who could fight as well as sing, use the
sword as well as the harp.

When Craterus received information of this dis-
aster, he pursued the Massageta? with the greatest
speed, and overtook them on the edge of the desert,
but not before they had been reinforced by 1,000 of
their mounted countrymen. A keen conflict ensued,
in which the Macedonians obtained the advantage,

236 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 328.

but the vicinity of the desert prevented them from
profiting by it.

At this time Artabazus, the Persian, wearied with
the distracted state of his satrapy, asked permission
to retire. This was granted, and Amyntas, the son
of Nicolaus, appointed to succeed him. The suc-
cessful resistance hitherto made by Spitamenes must
have caused a strong sensation among his country-
men. In reading general history, two years seem
scarcely an object of calculation, but to contempo-
raries they appear in a far different light, and a suc-
cessful rebellion for that length of time is sufficient
to shake the stability of the greatest empire. We
find, consequently, that the Areians were disposed
to revolt for a third time, at the instigation of their
own satrap, Arsames, the successor of Satibarzanes ;
that the satrap of the Tapeiri had refused to attend
when summoned to the camp ; and that Oxydates, the
Median satrap, was wilfully neglecting his duty.
Atropates, a Persian nobleman of the highest rank,
was sent to displace and succeed Oxydates; and Sta-
sanor and Phrataphernes, the Parthian satrap, had
been commissioned to seize Arsames. Thev had sue-
ceeded, and now brought the Areian satrap in chains
to the camp. Stasanor, one of the Companions, and
a native of Soli, was sent to succeed him as satrap
both of Areia and the Drangce; and Phrataphernes,
to apprehend the Tapeirian satrap, and bring him
into the camp.

Ccenus, with a powerful force, still continued on
the eastern frontier of Sogdiana, watching the pro-

^tat. 28.] EXTENT OF THE INSURRECTION. 237

ceedings of Spitamenes, whose activity was likely to
be renewed by the appearance of winter, now setting
in. He again persuaded the Massagetse to join him
in a plundering excursion into Sogdiana. This was
not difficult, as they had no settled homes, but could
easily, if invaded, remove their families, flocks, and
herds, into the inmost recesses of eastern Tartary;
they were not, therefore, much afraid to provoke the
wrath of Alexander, and prepared to accompany
Spitamenes and his troops with 3,000 horsemen.

Coenus was not taken by surprise, but led his troops
to meet the invaders. A bloody contest took place,
in which 800 of the Scythian cavalry were left on the
field of battle ; the survivors, accompanied by Spita-
menes, fled back to the desert. The victory was de-
cisive, and the Bactrians and Sogdians, who had
hitherto adhered to the fortunes of Spitamenes, gave
up the cause as lost, and surrendered to Coenus. This
conduct was probably accelerated by their allies of
the desert, who, when the battle had proved unsuc-
cessful, indemnified themselves for their loss by plun-
dering the baggage of those whom they professed to
aid. On their return home they received the intelli-
gence that the King himself was preparing to pene-
trate into their country. Alarmed by this report,
and dispirited by their late defeat, they seized Spita-
menes, cut off his head, and sent it as a peace-offer-
ing to Alexander. Thus perished the only Persian
whose talents and spirit had rendered him formida-
ble to the Macedonians. Upon this Coenus returned
to the winter quarters at Nautaca, near Maracanda,

238 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 328.

where Craterus soon afterwards arrived to announce
the pacification of Bactria.

While Alexander, at the commencement of this
campaign, was encamped on the banks of the Oxus,
two springs, one of water, another of oil, burst forth
near his tent. The prodigy was mentioned to Pto-
lemy, the son of Lagus, who reported it to the king.
Alexander sacrificed on the occasion, under the guid-
ance of the diviners. Aristander said that the foun-
tain of oil signified great labors, but victory also at
the close of them. Whatever may be our opinion as
to the occurrence of the prodigy, we may be certain
that Aristander's prediction was verified by the
events of the campaign, and that probably, as it was
the least glorious, so also it was the most toilsome
of all the Asiatic campaigns. The whole of the land
was in arms ; the Macedonians had to spread them-
selves in small bodies over the face of a country,
which is capable of maintaining an immense popu-
lation, provided, under a wise and beneficent gov-
ernment, the waters of the great rivers be judiciously
diffused and carefully husbanded. At present it is
in the hands of the most bigoted Mahometans in
Asia ; but in the tenth century, according to Ebu
Haukal, Mawaralnahr alone could furnish 300,000
cavalry and 300,000 infantry for foreign service,
without feeling their absence.

CHAPTER XII.

EIGHTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 327.

Some strong places still held out. Alexander,
therefore, with the first peep of spring, or rather as
soon as the extreme severity of the winter had re-
laxed, led his army into Sogdiana, in order to besiege
a precipitous rock, where, as in an impregnable for-
tress, Oxyartes, a Bactrian chief, had placed his
wife and children, while he kept the field. When
the Macedonians arrived at the foot of it, they dis-
covered that it was inaccessible on every side, and
abundantly provisioned for a long blockade. A
heavy fall of snow increased the difficulties of the
assailants, and the confidence of the barbarians, who
were thus furnished with plenty of water.

This last observation by Arrian partly accounts for
the total silence, as far as my researches have gone,
of all the Arabian geographers and historians con-
cerning this apparently impregnable and certainly
indestructible fortress; for the rock, it appears, had
no springs, and depended upon the heavens for its
supplies of water ; but at the time the Macedonians,
perhaps, were ignorant of this circumstance, or Alex-
ander would not wait until the hot weather set in.

He, nevertheless, summoned the place, and prom-

239

240 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

ised safety and protection to all, with liberty to re-
turn to their homes, on condition of surrendering the
fortress. The garrison answered with little cour-
tesy, that Alexander, if he wished to capture the rock,
must furnish himself with winged men. When the
king received this answer, he proclaimed through the
camp, that the first soldier who ascended the rock,
should receive twelve talents; the second, eleven; the
third, ten ; and so down to the twelfth, who was to re-
ceive one talent, or 300 dareics.

It is impossible for us in the present day exactly
to appreciate the current value of any of the ancient
coins, because that depended not only on the weight,
but also on the comparative abundance or scarcity of
the precious metals. The dareic was a gold coin of
the purest kind, equal in weight to fifty Attic
drachmae, each of which is estimated as amounting to
two pennyweights six grains of English troy weight ;
but we may form some idea of its real marketable
value, when we read, that in the time of Xenophon
one dareic a month was regarded as full pay for the
Greek heavy-armed soldier.* We may, therefore,
easily imagine the emulation that would natiirally be
excited among the Macedonians by this proclamation,
which promised wealth and independence to the most
successful, and a handsome competency to the twelfth
in order. From the great numbers who presented
themselves for this dangerous service, the three hun-

* The soldiers of that day, and even down to modern times,
regarded plunder as the chief part of their pay. The silver
dareic, here referred to, was worth 27£ cents.

^Etat. 29.] THE ROCK OF OXYARTES. 241

dred best rock-climbers were selected ; these were fur-
nished with a sufficient number of the iron pegs used
in fixing down the canvas of the tents, to be inserted
where necessary in the interstices of the rock, and in
the frozen snow. To each peg was attached a strong
piece of cord, by way of ladder. The climbers se-
lected the most precipitous face of the rock, as being
the most likely to be carelessly guarded, and com-
menced their labors as soon as it was dark. Thirty
out of the three hundred lost their hold and footing,
fell headlong, and sunk so deep into the snow, that
their bodies could not be recovered for burial ; the re-
mainder succeeded in their perilous enterprise, and
by break of day reached the top of the precipice ; this
was considerably higher than the broad platform oc-
cupied by the barbarians, who were not immediately
aware of their ascent. Alexander, therefore, again
sounded a parley, and called on the garrison to sur-
render the fortress, as he had already procured the
winged soldiers, with the want of whom they had
before taunted him. The barbarians were astonished,
on looking up, to see the summit occupied by Mace-
donian soldiers, who, according to orders, shook long
pieces of linen in the air, to imitate the motions of
wings. They, therefore, surrendered without fur-
ther delay, and thus proved the truth of Alexander's
favorite maxim, " That no place was impregnable to
the brave nor secure to the timorous." For although
we need not suppose, according to the account, that
the defenders were 30,000 in number, yet it is clear,
that a few brave men could easily have overpowered
16

242 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

an enemy without defensive arms, without a chance
of being supported, and with their limbs necessarily
benumbed by the cold and their excessive night fa-
tigue. Among the captives were the family of Ox-
yartes, whose eldest daughter, Roxana, is said to have
been, with the exception of the wife of Darius, the
loveliest woman seen by the Macedonians during
their Asiatic expedition.

The Bactrians held a middle place between the
Persians and Scythians, partaking more of the pol-
ished manners of the former than of the rudeness of
the latter. Thev still exist in Khorasan and Mawa-
ralnahr, under the modified name of Bukhars.
AYearied with the unceasing succession of new tribes
of conquerors from the deserts of Tartary, they have
for ages renounced the practice of arms, and, like the
Armenians and other eastern nations, retain their in-
dustrious habits and peaceful occupations, as far as
their barbarous masters will allow them. The Uzbek
Tatars, the present sovereigns of these regions, call
them Tajiks, or Burgesses, a name equally de-
scriptive of their social and mercantile character.
" They have, (writes my author,) for the most part,
large eyes, black and lively ; their hair black and very
fine ; in short, they partake nothing of the deformity
of the Tartars, among whom they inhabit. The
women, who are generally tall and well-shaped, have
fine complexions and very beautiful features."

The dazzling beauty of his young captive made a
deep impression upon the victor, and the momentary
passion ripened into a lasting attachment. But,

^Etat. 29.] THE BACTRIAN ROXANA. 243

warrior as he was, and with the bad example of his
model, Achilles, before his eyes, he scorned to take
advantage of her unprotected state, and publicly sol-
emnized his marriage with her. It is said that he
consulted his two friends, Craterus and Hephaestion,
upon the subject, and that Craterus strongly dis-
suaded him from an alliance so repugnant to Mace-
donian prejudices, while the gentler nature of He-
phsestion saw no political reasons powerful enough
to prevent his friend and sovereign from lawfully
gratifying an honorable passion. I doubt the truth
of the report — for I see no cause for supposing that
the act was repugnant to the feelings of the Mace-
donians. Why should a Bactrian bride be more de-
grading to Alexander, than Illyrian and Thracian
wives had been to Philip ? *

Oxyartes no sooner heard of the king's attachment
to his child, than he immediately came into the camp
without fear or ceremony, and was welcomed with all
the demonstrations of joy and respect due to the
father of the young queen. The union with their
countrywoman was regarded by all the natives as a
compliment to themselves, and these regions of Upper
[Asia, as they were the most reluctant to submit, were
also the last to shake off the Macedonian yoke.

Arrian's account of these two campaigns is noil

given with his usual clearness ; he seems to have been

wearied with recording the numerous marches and

* The fruit of this marriage was a son born shortly after the
death of Alexander in the year 323. Twelve years later, 311,
both mother and son were for political reasons murdered at
Amphipolis, Macedonia.

244 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

countermarches necessarily made during this tedious
and desultory warfare. Although, therefore, I have
followed him in the preceding account, I am strongly
inclined to believe that the rock, where Roxana and
her family were captured, was not in Sogdiana but in
Bactria, where Strabo has placed it ; for what could
a Bactrian chief have to do with Sogdiana, or why
look for a refuge beyond the Oxus, when the Paropa-
misus, with its summits and recesses, presented a
natural retreat for the insurgent Bactrians ? If,
therefore, it was in Bactria, there can be no doubt
that it was the same hill fortress which was captured
by Timour * previous to his expedition into India,
and the description of which answers exactly to the
rock of Oxyartes. It ought to be added, that accord-
ing to the tradition of the natives, it had been be-
sieged in vain by the great Iskender, the name by
which Alexander is still popularly known in all the
regions visited by him.

We hear nothing in Arrian's regular narrative of
the expedition into Margiana, although Alexander
founded a city there, and Arrian mentions the River
Epardus, among the Mardi, as one of those ascer-
tained by the Macedonians to have its termination in
the desert. As, however, we find in other places
that the Parrctaea? and the Mardi are continually con-
founded with each other, it mav fairlv be inferred
that the Parsetacse, in the vicinity of Bactria, were
the Mardi of Margiana. Curtius, although in a con-

* Better known as Tamerlane (1333-1405), the great con-
queror of western Asia.

JKtat. 29.] MARGIANA— RIVER MARGUS. 245

fused manner, mentions the march across the Ochus
and the foundation of the city Margiana. From
these facts, I venture to assign the following probable
route to Alexander. From Sogdiana he crossed the
Oxus, and entered Margiana, a fertile district, sur-
rounded on all sides by the desert, and watered by
the modern Murg-ab, called Margus by Strabo, and
Epardus by Arrian. According to the former writer,
the Macedonians retained the native names of some
rivers, gave names entirely new to others, and some-
times translated the native names into Greek. To
the last class plainly belong the Polytimetus or
"highly valuable," and the Epardus or " the irri-
gator." Alexander built a city, called after himself,
on the latter river, which soon fell into decay, but
was restored by Antiochus, who gave it the name of
Antiocheia Margiana. It still continues to be a
large and flourishing city, under the modern appel-
lation of Meru Shah-Ian. From the banks of the
Margus, he marched to the Ochus, the modern Ted-
gen, crossed it and entered the territory of the Parse-
tacse. Here also was a rock-fortress, something sim-
ilar to the one already captured. It was called — ac-
cording to Arrian — the rock of Chorienes. At the
foot it was four miles in circuit, and the road lead-
ing from the bottom to the summit was more than a
mile long. This was the only ascent, narrow and
difficult of access, even were no opposition offered. A
deep ravine separated the rock from the only rising
ground, whence it could possibly be assailed with any
prospect of success. Alexander proposed to fill up

246 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

this intervening gulf, and thus imitate on land what
at the siege of Tyre he had already attempted by
sea. The army was formed into two divisions. He
himself superintended the operations of one half by
day, while the other half, divided into three watches,
worked by night under the inspection of Perdiccas,
Leonnatus, and Ptolemy. But the work proceeded
slowly, as the labors of the whole day did not advance
the mound more than thirty feet, and the labors of
the night not so much. The impatient soldiers,
therefore, constructed long ladders from the tall pine
trees, with which the hill was covered, and descended
into the ravine. Here, in proper places and at short
intervals, they erected upright posts. The summits
of these they connected by transverse pieces of tim-
ber, on which they placed hurdles, and finally earth,
so as to form a broad and solid platform; on this
again they erected covered galleries, which protected
them from the enemy's missiles. The barbarians at
first ridiculed the attempt, but the gradual approach
of the platform brought them within reach of the
Macedonian darts, which soon cleared a part of the
rock of its defenders.

Chorienes, more astonished at the extraordinary
exertions of the besiegers than having any immedi-
ate cause to fear the result, sent a messenger to Alex-
ander, and expressed a wish to have a conference with
Oxyartes. The latter, by permission, ascended the
rock, and -partly by affirming that no place could
withstand the attack of Alexander, and partly by ex-
tolling his generous disposition, of which he, the

^Etat. 29.] ROCK OF CHORINES— KELAT. 247

speaker, was an example, persuaded Chorienes to sub-
mit himself to the good pleasure of the besiegers.
When the rock had been delivered up, the conqueror,
escorted by a strong body guard, ascended and
viewed, not without admiration, the natural defences
of the place. This celebrated fortress is, if I am not
mistaken, the modern Kelat, the favorite stronghold
and treasury of Nadir Shah. In description the two
exactly correspond, nor is it probable that a place of
the natural strength and importance of Kelat could
have been passed over in silence by the historians of
Alexander. During the siege, a heavy fall of snow
had much incommoded the assailants, who were also
badly supplied with provisions. Chorienes, there-
fore, to show his gratitude, as his stronghold and
government had been restored to him, provisioned the
army for two months, and distributed from tent to
tent, corn, wine, and salted meat. He added, that
this munificent donation had not exhausted one tenth
of his regular stores. Two chiefs, Austanes and Ca-
tanes, still kept the field in Parsetaca. Craterus was
sent against them, brought them to battle, slew Ca-
tanes, and brought Austanes prisoner to Bactra,
where the whole army re-assembled previous to the
expedition into India. It would have been desirable
to have heard more of Catanes, who, according to
Curtius, was one of the early accomplices of Bessus,
and bore the character of being deeply skilled in
magic arts and Chakkean lore. The spirit of resist-
ance died with him, and all the northern provinces
became tranquil. Such, however, was the favorable

2±8 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

impression made upon Alexander by the free spirit
and gallant bearing of these barbarians, that he se-
lected thirty thousand of their youth, probably all in
their fifteenth or sixteenth year, who were to be
taught the Greek language and Macedonian disci-
pline, and to have the same dress and arms as the
soldiers of the phalanx.

Alexander, like most other great warriors, was
passionately fond of hunting. He even pursued the
fox with great eagerness, when nobler ganie could not
be found. But at Bazaria, which probably is the
modern Bokhara, he found a royal park, which, ac-
cording to the traditions of the natives, had not been
disturbed for four generations. These parks, some-
thing similar to the forests of our JTorman kingsj
were scattered over the face of the empire, and the
animals bred therein reserved for the diversion of
the monarch himself. A spot well supplied with
wood and water was selected for the purpose, inclosed
within lofty walls, and stocked with every species of
wild beasts. The younger Cyrus, according to Xeno-
phon, possessed one of great extent round the sources
of the Meander, and we learn from St. Jerome, that.
in his age, Babylon itself had been converted by the
Parthian kings into a royal park. Julian, The Apos-
tate, in his fatal expedition to the East, broke into
one of these inclosures, and destroyed the wild beasts
with the assistance of his army.

We may infer from the report of the natives, that
the remoteness of the Bazarian chase had prevented
the last four monarchs from visiting it. Alexander,

Mtat. 29.] LYSIMACHUS. 249

therefore, anticipating considerable resistance, led a
strong detachment of his army into the royal pre-
serve, and declared war against its denizens — few of
which probably had ever before heard the trumpet
sound, or seen the broad and pointed blade of the
hunting-spear. The king was in front and on foot,
when an enormous lion, roused from the lair in which
he had reposed for so many years undisturbed, faced
his assailants and seemed inclined to select the king
for his antagonist. The lion never attacks while
running, walking, or standing. He first crouches
and gathers his limbs under him, and thus gives am-
ple warning of the intended spring.

Lysimachus, destined in time to be one of Alex-
ander's great successors, had encountered a lion in
single combat on the banks of the Euphrates, and had
slain him, but not without receiving a dangerous
stroke from the paw of the wounded brute, which
had laid his ribs bare and seriously endangered his
life. This gallant officer now stepped forward,
placed himself in front of his king, but Alexander,
jealous of the honor already acquired by his general,
ordered him instantly to retire : saying " he could
kill a lion as well as Lvsimachus." His words were
confirmed bv the deed, for he received the animal's
spring on the point of his hunting-spear with so much
judgment and coolness that the weapon entered a vital
part and proved instantly fatal. It was on this oc-
casion that a Spartan ambassador, who had been
deputed to wait upon him after the defeat of Agis,

250 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

exclaimed, " Bravo, Alexander, well hast thou won
the prize of royalty from the king of the woods ! "

But the Macedonians, who were too sensible of the
value of their sovereign's life to permit it thus to de-
pend upon the critical management of a hunting
spear, convened an assembly, and passed a decree,
that thenceforward Alexander should not combat
wild beasts on foot, nor hunt without being person-
ally attended by a certain number of the great offiU
cers. Probably this was not the first time in which
the king's life had been endangered by wild beasts.
For Craterus consecrated, in the temple of Delphi, a
hunting-piece in bronze, — the joint workmanship of
Lysippus and Leochares — which represented a lion
and dogs — the king fighting with the lion — and
Craterus hastening to his prince's assistance. These
hunting parties were not only dangerous from
the ferocitv of the wild beasts, but also from the un-
skilful or rash management of their weapons by the
followers of the chase. Thus Craterus had his thigh
pierced through by the lance of Perdiccas, while they
were engaged in hunting the ichneumon on the banks
of the l^ile. Four thousand head of animals of vari"
ous kinds were slaughtered in the great park at Ba-
zaria, and the sport was closed by a public banquet,
principally composed of the venison. It ought to be
added, that even Curtius allows that the foolish story
of the exposure of Lvsimachus to a lion had no other
foundation than the facts above recorded.

But there occurred, either during this or another
hunting party about the same period, a circumstance

iEtat. 29.] CONSPIRACY OF THE PAGES. 251

which in its consequences had well nigh proved fatal
to Alexander.

It had been the policy of Philip to educate the sons
of the Macedonian nobility in his own palace, both
for the sake of their greater improvement, and prob-
ably of ensuring the loyalty and fidelity of their
parents. In order more immediately to connect them
with the court, some of the officers about the king's
person were entirely committed to their charge.
They acted as the royal chamberlains; as chief
grooms they had the care of the horses from the door
of the stable until the king and his own immediate
retinue were mounted. They had also to attend him
on hunting expeditions, probably to manage the dogs,
and supply the king with fresh weapons. The title
of royal pages, therefore, will suit them better than
any other in our language. Hermolaus, the son of
Sopolis, one of these young gentlemen, had in the
heat of a boar-hunt, forgotten his duty and slain the
animal — perhaps unfairly, (for the laws of the chase
in all ages and climes have been very arbitrary,) —
certainly so as to interfere with the royal sport. The
page was deprived of his horse, and ordered to be
flogged ; and it would appear this was the usual pun-
ishment for such offences. But Hermolaus regarded
it as a personal disgrace, not to be effaced but in the
blood of his sovereign. He persuaded Sostratus, the
son of Amyntas, his particular friend among the
pages, to enter into his designs. Sostratus succeeded
in seducing Antipater, the son of Asclepiodorus, the
satrap of Syria, Epimenes the son of Arses, Anticlea

252 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

the son of Theocritus, and Philotas the son of Carsis
the Thracian, to become partners in the conspiracy.

The pages in turn watched the royal bed-chamber,
and the young traitors agreed to assassinate the king
on the night when it would be the duty of Anticles
to watch. But Alexander did not enter his cham-
ber on that night until the pages were changed. The
cause assigned for his absence is curious. A Syrian
female, an enthusiast and supposed to be divinely in-
spired, had attached herself to Alexander, and had
so far ingratiated herself with the inmates of the
palace, as to be allowed free ingress and egress at all
hours of the day and night. It was often her prac-
tice to watch all night at the king's bed-side. Her
predictions also had been so successful, that either
from policy or superstition great respect was paid to
her person and attention to her advice. On this
memorable night she met Alexander as he was retir-
ing from the banqueting room to his chamber, and be-
sought him with eagerness and earnestness to return
and prolong the revelry till day-break.

The king, who probably had never before received
a similar exhortation from the prophetess, immediate-
ly replied, " that the gods gave wholesome counsel,"
and complied with the advice. It is more than prob-
able that the Syrian whose privileged habits enabled
her freely to visit every place, had overheard the
conversation of the pages, and had taken this strange
mode of counteracting their treason.

Strange however as it must appear — it proved suf-
ficient. For on the next day Epimenes communi-

JEtat. 29.J DETECTED AND PUNISHED. 253

cated the plot to Charicles, the son of Menander, who
immediately informed Eurylochus, the brother of
Epimenes. The latter gave the same information to
Ptolemy, the son of Lague, who laid it before the
king. The conspirators were seized, put to the tor-
ture, confessed their own guilt, and named some ac-
complices. They were brought before the Macedo-
nian assembly, where, according to some authors,
Hermolaus spoke at length a'nd apologised for his
treason. His arguments were, that the Median dress
and the attempt to enforce the ceremony of prostra-
tion, the drunken revelries and consequent somno-
lency of Alexander — were more than could be any
longer tolerated by a freeman ; and that he had done
well in desiring to deliver the Macedonians from a
tyrant who had put Philotas to death unjustly, Par-
menio without even the forms of law, and who had
murdered Cleitus in a fit of drunkenness. But the
assembly had no sympathy with the young regicide,
who wished to screen his own vindictive passions
under the cloak of patriotism and love of freedom.
They therefore, condemned him and his associates to
death, but in executing the sentence they did not use
their darts, as in the case of Philotas, but over-
whelmed the culprits with stones.

This conspiracy originated not in Macedonian but
democratic principles, nor ought Alexander to have
been astonished at the consequences of his own con-
duct. He was the patron of democracy in the Asiatic
cities. He delighted in the conversation, and en-
couraged the visits, of the democracy philosophers

254: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

of Southern Greece. Had he confined himself within
these bounds, his conduct would have been as harm-
less as the coquetry of Catherine of Russia and of
Frederick of Prussia, with similar characters in mod-
ern times. But he committed a serious mistake, in
entrusting the most important part of the education
of the royal pages to Calisthenes. This man had been
a pupil of Aristotle ; according to some writers he
was his nephew; nor can it be doubted that he owed
his situation in the court of Alexander to the recom-
mendation of the Stagyrite. He was an Olynthian
by birth, rude of manner and bold of speech, of strong
intellect and considerable eloquence. His principles
were those of extreme democracy, nor perhaps had he
forgotten the destruction of his country by Philip ; at
least it may be inferred from the following anecdote
that he had not. " Once at the king's table he was
requested to pronounce an extemporaneous eulogy
upon the Macedonians. This he did with so much
eloquence, that the guests, not content with applaud-
ing him, rose up and covered him with their garlands.
Upon this Alexander said, in the words of Euripides,

" When great the theme 'tis easy to excel ; "

" But now, Calisthenes, show your powers in repre-
senting the faults of the Macedonians, that they may
see them and amend. " The orator immediately took
the other side of the question, grossly abused the
Macedonians, vilified Philip, whose successes he im-
puted to the divisions among the republican Greeks,

-ffitat. 29.] CALISTHENES. 255

and not to his own talents, and concluded with a quo-
tation to this purpose —

"The wicked wretch through discord honor won."

By this he drew upon himself the implacable hatred
of the Macedonians, and Alexander said, that " he
had given a specimen not of his eloquence but of his
malevolence."

Plutarch's account of this ill-judged exhibition is
closed with the observation of Aristotle, that the elo-
quence of Calisthenes was indeed great, but that he
wanted common sense. It appears that he indulged
in violent speeches, even in the presence of Aristotle,
who is said to have answered one of them by simply
repeating the Homeric line —

" Short date of life, my son, these words forebode."

[A quotation, perhaps, more applicable to the invective
against the Macedonians and Philip — than it could
be to any other speech. Of late he had lost ground
in Alexander's favor, which had only induced him to
become more insolent in his manners. He had re-
peatedly quitted the king's presence, with the follow-
ing line of Homer on his lips —

" Patroclus died a better man than thou."

It is also recorded, that when asked by Philotas,
whom the Athenians most honored, he answered, Har-
modius and Aristogeiton, because they slew one of the
two tyrants and abolished the tyranny. Philotas then
asked, where could the slayer of a tyrant obtain a safe

256 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

asylum ? " If nowhere else," said Calisthenes,
%i among the Athenians, who had defended in arms
the helpless Heracleidse against Eurystheus, the then
powerful tyrant of all Greece."

It is difficult for persons who form their general
idea of a Greek philosopher from Plato, Xenophon,
and Aristotle, to conceive the difference between these
truly great men and the swarm of sophists, who in
later times usurped the name of philosophers. Plato,
Xenophon, and Aristotle were gentlemen in the most
comprehensive sense of the word, the companions and
friends of monarchs, and who knew how to respect the
rights and privileges of others, without betraying
their own dignity and independence. But the later
sophist, the imitator of Diogenes, found it much
easier to acquire the name of a philosopher by despis-
ing the decencies and even charities of life, and incul-
cating the doctrine of indiscriminate equality: —
when I say indiscriminate, I mean that all distinc-
tions except those of superior intellect and virtue,
monopolized of course by the philosophers and their
admirers, were to be contemned and set at nought.
Thus Calisthenes was accustomed to say publicly,
that Alexander had much more need of him than he
had of Alexander — that the king's achievements were
entirely at his mercy — and that his immortality did
not depend upon the falsehoods propagated respecting
his birth, but on what he, the historian of his actions,
might choose to relate. Hermolaus was his favorite
pupil, and strongly attached both to his person and
doctrines. It is not wonderful, therefore, that the

Mt&t. 29.] ACCUSED AND PUT TO DEATH. 257

conduct of the pupil should have excited suspicions
against the preceptor. All the writers agree that the
conspirators confessed that Calisthenes had always
given a willing ear to their complaints against the
king. Some add, that when Hermolaus was bitterly
lamenting his punishment and disgrace,. Calisthenes
told him " to remember that he was now a man ; " an
expression, after such a castigation, liable to a very
dangerous interpretation.

But I see no reason whatsoever to doubt the united
testimony of Ptolemy and Aristobulus, who both
wrote, that the pages had confessed that they had been
incited and encouraged by Calisthenes in the prosecu-
tion of their plot. He was therefore seized and im-
prisoned. Respecting his end Aristobulus and Ptol-
emy disagree ; the former says he died in custody, the
other that he was first tortured and then hanged. On
such a point the commander of the guard must be the
best authority; but the account followed by Aristo-
bulus was probably the one made public at the time.

I have dwelt the longer on the subject of Calisthe-
nes, because his chains and death were regarded by
his brethren of the long beard and short cloak, as an
insult and an outrage committed against their order.
He was regarded as a martyr to the great doctrine
not of the equality but of the superiority of the self-
styled philosophers to the kings of the earth, and his
persecutor was loaded with slanders and calumnies,
many of which are believed to this day.

Alexander left Amyntas governor of the regions
between the Jaxartes and the Paropamisus, with

258 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

3500 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. The spring had

already passed away and the summer had set in, when
he set out from Bactria to commence his Indian ex-
pedition. His troops for the last three years had been
engaged in hard service, abounding more with blows
than booty; — he proposed therefore to remunerate
them for their past labors by leading them to attack
more wealth v and less warlike nations. He soon ar-
rived at the northern foot of the Paropamisus, where,
according to Curtius, he had already founded a city.
Nor is this unlikely; for, according to Strabo, he
founded eight cities in Sogdiana and Bactria, and
one of them might well have been intended to com-
mand the southern end of the main pass over the
mountains. The citv Anderab, on the same site, still
retains a considerable portion of Alexander's name.
" The town of Anderab (writes an old traveller) i?
the most southern which the Usbeks possess at present,
being situate at the foot of the mountains which sep-
arate the dominions of Persia and the Great Mogul
from Great Bukharia. As there is no other way of
crossing those mountains towards India with beasts
of carriage but throuah this citv, all travellers and
goods from Great Bukharia, designed for that coun-
try, must pass this way ; on which account the khan
of Balk constantly maintains a £ood number of sol-
diers in the place, though otherwise it is not very
strong."

He then entered the defiles, and in ten days arrived
fit the Alexandreia which he had founded two years
before. He had occasion to be displeased with the

JEtat. 29.] INDIAN EXPEDITION— CABUL. 259

governor, whom he therefore removed ; he also added
new colonists to the city. But it did not prosper long
under the name of Alexandria. The probability
however is, that the more ancient Ortospana, which
the new city was to replace, recovered either its name
or importance. For Strabo writes, that the main road
from Bactra to the Indies, was across the Paropa-
misus to Ortospana ; and Ptolemy has no Alexandria
in that neighborhood, but a Cabura, also called Ortos-
pana. Cabura, without any real change, is the mod-
ern Cabul, the key of India in all ages, whether the
invader is to advance from the west or the north, from
Candahar or from Balk. The Paropamisian Alexan-
dria was, therefore, either the very same as Cabul, or
must have been built in its immediate vicinity. The
distance on the map between Anderab and Cabul, is
about a hundred miles. Nor could the Macedonian
army, with its regular baggage, have crossed the in-
tervening hills in less than ten days, for the road,
such as it is, follows principally the beds of torrents ;
and Timour, who was ill, and had to be carried in a
litter, on his return from India, was obliged, during
this route, to cross one river twenty-six and another
twenty-two times.

He then advanced to a city called Nicsea, where
he sacrificed to Minerva, and ordered the satraps to
the west of the Indus to come and meet him. Taxiles
was the chief of these, and both he and the minor
satraps obeyed, brought presents, and promised to
give the King all the elephants which they possessed.
Here he divided his army. Hephsestion and Perdic-

260 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

cas, with one division, were sent through the province
of Peucaliotes, of which Peucela, was the capital, to
the banks of the Indus, there to construct a bridge,
and Taxiles and the other satraps were ordered to
accompany them. Antes, the governor of Peucaliotes
proved refractory, but was soon subdued, and his
chief city, probably the modern Peishwar, was taken :
the two generals then proceeded to execute their fur-
ther orders.

Alexander, with the rest of the army, marched to
the left, into the mountainous regions intersected bv
the western branches of the Indus. He crossed in
succession the Choes, or Choaspes, the Euaspla and
the Gurseus. It is useless to attempt to follow him
through these unknown regions; but his personal
adventures were full of incident.

Between the Choes (which still retains its name,
and must be crossed in travelling from Cabul to the
Indus) and the Euaspla he besieged a city defended
by a double wall. In the assault by which the out-
ward wall was carried, Alexander was wounded by
an arrow in the shoulder; the warriors of his army
pronounced it slight, but their only reason for calling
it so appears to have been that the point had not pene-
trated through. Leonnatus and Ptolemy were also
wounded. The army, as usual in such cases, took
ample vengeance for the king's wound. Craterus was
left in this district, to complete its reduction, while
Alexander moved into the country, between the Euas-
pla and the Gura?us.

The inhabitants of the first city approached by the

Mtsit. 29.] A HOMERIC COMBAT. 261

Macedonians, set fire to it, and fled to the mountains ;
they were pursued and many overtaken before they
reached their fastnesses.

In the pursuit, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, saw the
Indian king, surrounded by his guards, on one of the
lower hills, at the foot of the mountains. He immedi-
ately led the few troops by whom he was accompanied
to attack him. The hill was too steep for cavalry, he
therefore dismounted and ascended on foot. The In-
dian seeing the small number of his supporters, so far
from shunning the combat, advanced to meet the as-
sailant : his weapon was a long and stout lance, and
with this — without parting with the shaft — he struck
Ptolemy on the breast ; the point penetrated the
breastplate, but did not reach the body, which proba-
bly was defended by thick quilting. Ptolemy, in re-
turn, threw his lance, which pierced the Indian's
thigh and brought him to the ground. But the In-
dians on the heights, who witnessed the fall of their
chief, rushed down to save his arms and body from
falling into the enemy's hands. Ptolemy must there-
fore have retired without the trophies of victory, had
not Alexander himself arrived at the critical moment
at the foot of the hill. He immediately ordered his
guards to dismount, ran up, and after a severe and
well-contested struggle, the arms and body of the
Indian were borne away by the Macedonians. This
was truly a Homeric combat, and had not the king
himself been in the field, would have entitled Ptolemy
to the second " spolia opima " won during this war.
It is worth observing, that both Erigyus and Ptolemy,

262 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

who thus distinguished themselves, were the youthful
favorites of Alexander. Erigyus unfortunately had
died at the close of the last Bactrian campaign, to the
great sorrow of the king. Craterus, on whom de-
volved all separate commands of consequence, was
ordered to build a new town on the site of the one
burnt by these Indians. Alexander marched in the
direction of a lofty mountain, where the neighboring
inhabitants were said to have taken refuge with their
flocks and herds, and encamped at the foot of it.

Ptolemy was sent to reconnoitre, and brought back
information that, as far as he could judge, the fires
in the enemy's stations were far more numerous than
in the king's camp. Alexander, concluding from this
that a combination of various tribes had taken place,
resolved to anticipate any intended attack. He took
with him what he judged a sufficient number of
troops, left the rest in the camp, and ascended the
mountain. After having approached the enemy's
fires, and reconnoitred their position, he divided his
force into three columns ; he himself led forward one,
Leonnatus the other, and Ptolemy the third. They
all proved successful in the end, although not without
much hard fighting, as the inhabitants of these dis-
tricts were distinguished for their hardiness and
valor. The booty was immense. Forty thousand
prisoners, and two hundred and thirty thousand head
of various kinds of cattle, were captured. Alexander,
struck with the size and activity of the Indian oxen,
selected the finest animals from the spoil, and sent

Mt&t. 29.] MASSAGA— INDIAN WARRIORS. 26

'»

them to Macedonia for the sake of improving the
breed in his native dominions.

Thence he advanced to the river Gurseus, which he
forded with great difficulty, as the waters were deep
and the current strong. Like all other mountain
streams, its bed was formed of round slippery stones,
which rendered it difficult for the soldier to keep his
footing. The Gurseus is probably the Suastus of Pto-
lemy, the modern Kamah or Cashgur. The country
to the east was inhabited by the Assaceni or AfTaceni,
supposed to have been the ancestors of the modern
Afghans. Their chief city was Massaga, a large and
wealthy place ; and which agrees both in name and
position with the modern Massagour, not far from
the left bank of the Kamah.

This capital was garrisoned by seven thousand In-
dian mercenaries, warriors by profession, and prob-
ably by caste, whose own country was far to the east.
The inhabitants, supported by the mercenaries, ad-
vanced into the plain and gave battle to the Mace-
donians, but were defeated and driven into the city.
There the resistance of the mercenaries became more
effectual, and all attempts to carry the place by
storm failed. The king, exposing himself as usual,
was wounded in the leg by an arrow. In the mean-
time the engines were brought up, and wooden towers
constructed. The assailants in one of these had
cleared the opposite wall of its defenders, when Alex-
ander ordered a moveable bridge, similar to that with
which he had captured Tyre, to be thrown across from
the tower to the wall. This was done, and the bravest

264: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

of the guards rushed forwards; but, unfortunately,
their numbers and weight snapped the bridge in the
centre, and they were all precipitated to the foot of
the wall. Before they could extricate themselves,
they were overwhelmed from above by every species
of missiles, and the enemy sallied forth upon them
through numerous posterns in the wall.

This loss was repaired ; within four days another
bridge had been flung from the tower to the wall.
The garrison of mercenaries fought bravely, and as
long as the governor lived showed no inclination to
yield ; but when he had fallen, by a dart discharged
from an engine, they proposed to surrender on terms.
The best were offered, provided they would enter into
Alexander's service. They consented, quitted the
city, and encamped on a hillock over against the
Macedonian camp. Some misunderstanding, how-
ever, took place; either they mistrusted the promises
of Alexander or were unwilling to join the foreign
invaders ; they therefore attempted to withdraw by
night into the neighboring cities. But Alexander
either anticipated their movements, or overtook them
in their flight (for both accounts are given) and put
them all to the sword. As Arrian gives no hint of
any breach of faith on the part of Alexander, we may
easily pass over in silence the charge adduced by
other writers. He prided himself particularly on the
extreme punctuality with which lie observed all prom-
ises, and was never known to violate his pledged
word. At the same time it must be confessed that he
was inexorable in punishing all those who either acted

JEtat. 29.J THE ROCK AORNOS. 265

with bad faith themselves, or even neglected to fulfil
their engagements from a suspicion that he intended
to act with bad faith to them.

While engaged in the siege of Massaga, the King
had detached a body of troops to invest Bezira and
Ora. The latter was taken; but the inhabitants of
the former, together with the whole population of the
neighboring province, took refuge on the celebrated
rock Aornos, reported impregnable, and to have thrice
resisted the arms of the famed and fabulous Hercules.
Difficulties calculated to deter others only excited the
energies of Alexander, who regarded the present as a
fair opportunity of entering into competition with the
great hero of Greece. And the contest was to be of
that nature, that the meanest soldier in the army
could judge of its final issue. It was not a matter of
the slightest consequence whether the rock had been
unsuccessfully besieged or not ; for all rational pur-
poses it was sufficient that the Macedonians were im-
pressed with the belief, or even that the report was
current, that his great ancestor had failed in captur-
ing the supposed impregnable fortress. The descrip-
tion given of the rock by Arrian is, that its circuit at
the base was near twelve miles ; that the lowest point
was three quarters of a mile above the plain ; and that
on the summit there was a cultivated platform, plen-
tifully irrigated by springs.

On encamping at its foot, Alexander was visited
bv some of the natives of the vicinitv, who, as usual
in similar cases, promised to betray the secrets of the
stronghold and conduct the Macedonians to a spot

206 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

where the operations for the final reduction of the
place would be much facilitated. Alexander dis-
patched Ptolemy, with an active party of men, to
make the necessary circuit, under the guidance of
these voluntary traitors, and to seize the spot de-
scribed by them. This was performed ; and Ptolemy,
by kindling a beacon fire, indicated to the king his
success and position. The post occupied appears to
have been a detached summit, which considerably
hampered the proceedings of the besieged. Alexander
made an attempt to ascend from his side also, but was
repulsed without much difficulty. The enemy, en-
couraged by their success, then turned their forces
against Ptolemy, who with difficulty maintained his
position. In the course of the night Alexander con-
veyed, by the hands of another Indian traitor, a letter
to Ptolemy, containing an order to make a vigorous
attack from his position as soon as he saw the Indians
assailed by himself. Alexander's object was to force
his way and join Ptolemy. The simultaneous attack
began with the dawn, and, after a severe contest, suc-
ceeded by mid-day ; when the Indians, being attacked
from below by Alexander, and from above by Pto-
lemy, retired and left the path open. Thus the Mace-
donian force was united on the point preoccupied by
Ptolemy. But great difficulties still remained, for
the summit thus occupied was separated from what
may be termed the main body of the rock by an im-
mense ravine. The victories of the Macedonians had,
however, been achieved as much by toilsome labors as

JEtat. 29.] AORNOS SCALED AND CAPTURED. 267

by discipline and valor; they therefore instantly be-
gan to fill up the intervening space.

In four days, under the immediate inspection of
the king, the wonderful exertions of the army had
advanced the mound, and the works erected on it,
within bow-shot of the rock. Soon after, another
detached summit, on a level with the great plain, was
seized and occupied by a small party of Macedonians.
The Indians, finding themselves thus exposed to the
enemy's missiles, sent a herald announcing their in-
tention to surrender on terms, provided the assault
was postponed. To this Alexander consented, but
soon received information that the object of the In-
dians was to gain time, and to withdraw, under cover
of the night, to their several homes. The king there-
fore withdrew all his outposts, and left the paths
open. But as soon as he perceived that the enemy's
outworks had been deserted — he scaled the rock, and
the Macedonians, who first gained the summit, drew
up their comrades by ropes, and thus achieved this
memorable conquest. The command of the fortress
and province was entrusted to Sisicottus, an Indian
whom he had found in the retinue of Bessus, and of
whose fidelity he had received ample proofs. . . .
The rock is not known to me from modern authori-
ties, nor do I know of any traveller who has examined
this remote corner. It is on the right bank of the
Indus, close to the river ; but I have no means of as-
certaining its exact site. A traveller going up the
right bank from Attcock, could not fail to find it.*

* The most plausible modern attempt at the identification

2G8 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

.... Here Alexander was informed that the king
of the Assaceni, on retiring to the mountains, had
turned out his elephants, thirty in number, to enjoy
a temporary liberty in the rich pastures on the banks
of the Indus. Alexander had already assembled a
large troop of elephant-hunters around him, and with
their assistance recovered all the animals but two,
which were represented to have fallen over precipices,
in their attempt to escape.

As the banks of the Indus were covered with forest
trees, he cut down timber, built vessels, and em-
barked on the river. It was as the fleet was falling
down the stream that he visited Nysa, the inhabitants
of which claimed his protection, as being descendants
of part of the victorious host of Dionysus, who had
founded their city, and peopled it with the invalids
of his camp. In proof of their assertion they showed
ivy, the Bacchic emblem, which, according to them,
grew in no other part of India but their territories,
and a mountain above their citv, called Merus, or
the Thigh, in remembrance of the miraculous
birth of Dionysus. Their chief, Acuphis, gave Alex-
ander a description of their constitution, according
to which the supreme power was lodged in a council
of three hundred, consisting of the citizens most re-
spected for age, rank, and abilities. Alexander was
willing to believe their Bacchic origin, and that at
last he had found traces of the two demigods who in
remoter ages had preceded him in his present career.

of this mountain makes it Mahaban, thirty miles above the
mouth of the Kabul.

&tat. 29.] HERCULES— DIONYSUS. 269

He therefore treated the Nysans with particular at-
tention, and granted all their requests, on condition
of being furnished with 300 horsemen as a military
contribution, and a hundred of their best men as
hostages. At the last demand Acuphis smiled, and
when asked to explain his mirth, replied, that Alex-
ander was welcome to that number of the bad and
vicious characters in Nysa, but wished to know how
any city could be governed if deprived of a hundred
of its best men. Alexander, pleased with the answer,
took the cavalry, but remitted the hostages.

It is difficult to account for these and other traces
of Hercules and Dionysus which are gravely recorded
in the writings of Alexander's most trustworthy his-
torians. The arms of Darius, the son of Hystaspes,
had no doubt been carried to the Indus, and the rock
Aornos might have been repeatedly besieged in vain
by the Persians. Greeks also from Ionia, Doris, and
iEolis might have been settled, according to a well-
known Persian policy, on this distant frontier, and
have carried with them the mysteries of Bacchus.
Yet with all this it is difficult to believe that the
Macedonians, who had traversed the most enlightened
and civilized states of Asia without discovering one
trace of Hercules and Dionysus, should thus find ves-
tiges of the supposed expeditions of both heroes in
the obscure corner between the river of Cabul and the
Indus.

Might not some Macedonians have visited Eysa
during the celebration of the festival of the Hindoo
god Rama, and easily recognized his identity with

270 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 327.

their own Dionysus ? The following passage from
Bishop Heber's Journal in India is the best illustra-
tion of the subject : — " The two brothers, Rama and
Luchmun, in a splendid palxee, were conducting the
retreat of their armv. The divine Hunniman, as
naked and almost as hairy as the animal whom he
represented, was gamboling before them, with a long
tail tied round his waist, a mask to represent the head
of a baboon, and two great pointed clubs in his hands.
His armv followed, a number of men with similar
tails and masks, their bodies dyed with indigo, and
also armed with clubs. I was never so forciblv struck
with the identity of Rama and Bacchus. Here were
before me Bacchus, his brother AmjDelus, the Satyrs,
smeared with wine-lees, and the great Pan command-
ing them."

The Macedonian chiefs would gladly avail them-
selves of an opportunity to impress their sovereign
with a belief that he had reached the boundaries of
the conquests of Hercules and Dionysus, and that to
surpass them by a few marches more to the east would
be sufficient to satisfy the wildest dream of ambition.
Acuphis and his companions could easily be induced
to enter into a plan calculated to promote their own
honor and advantage, and few in the army would
venture to be very critical in their strictures respect-
ing the claims of these self-styled Bacchi.

Even the interview with the kin?, as conducted bv
the deputies of Nysa, was far too theatrical not to
have been studied. When ushered into the roval
tent, they found him covered with dust, and in com-

JEtat. 29.] BACCHANALIAN REVELRY. 271

plete armor — helmet on head and spear in hand,
being his usual costume during a march. The depu-
ties on seeing him were apparently overpowered with
their feelings of awe and admiration, fell prostrate,
and remained in that position without uttering a
word, until they were raised by Alexander's own
hand. It was then that they told their Bacchic tale,
as before described.

Alexander, with the Companion cavalry and the
flower of the phalanx, ascended Mount Merus and
found it covered with ivy ; laurels and dense groves of
other trees : the Macedonians, delighted once more to
see the green ivy plant, quickly formed it into chap-
lets for their brows, sung hymns to Bacchus, and in-
voked him by his numerous names. Alexander also
offered a magnificent sacrifice to the god, and feasted
the whole army. According to some authors, many
of the leading generals were seized at the termination
of the banquet with the bacchanalian frenzy, sallied
forth in the height of their enthusiasm, and caused
Mount Merus to re-echo the cries of Evoe, Iacche, and
Lygee. From Nysa, the whole army arrived at the
bridge, already constructed by Perdiccas and He-
phsestion. The whole summer and winter, as re-
corded from Aristobulus by Strabo, had been spent in
the march from Bactria, and their late campaign
among the mountains. With the commencement of
spring they descended into the plains.

CHAPTER XIII.

NINTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 326.

The region immediately to the east of the upper
course of the Indus, was, at the period of Alexander's
invasion, possessed by three leading chiefs; — Abis-
sares, whose territories were on the left among the
mountains ; Taxiles, who ruled over the country im-
mediately in front, between the Indus and the
Hydaspes ; and Poms, whose dominions were to the
east of the Hydaspes, but who seems, from his mili-
tary power, to have been an object of suspicion and
alarm to his neighbors on every side. Taxiles, thus
named either from his capital or from his office, im-
mediately submitted, and with munificent presents
hastened to meet the conqueror on the banks of the
Indus. The bridge gave a safe passage to the Mace-
donian army, which for the second time thus found
itself beyond the extreme limits of the Persian
empire. Arrian regrets that none of the historians of
Alexander had described the construction of the
bridge, although he concludes that it must have been
supported on boats.

Prom the Indus the army marched to Taxila, the
largest and wealthiest city between the Indus and the
Hydaspes. Here time was allowed to the soldiers to

272

JEb&t. 30.J TAXILES— PORUS. 273

recruit their strength and their health, after the late
severe duty among the hills; and the king was so
pleased with the liberality and generous kindness of
Taxiles, that — far from depriving him of anything
— he presented him with a thousand talents ; — which
drew from some discontented Macedonian the remark
" that Alexander had apparently found no object
worthy of his munificence before he entered India. '*
Abissares, the seat of whose government was probably
the modern Cashmere, sent his brother with other
ambassadors to make his submission, and to carry
rich gifts to the king. Deputies also came from
Doxares, the governor of a district, on the same
errand. The stay of the army at Taxila was further
marked by sacrifices, festivities, horse races, gymnas-
tic contests, and other amusements calculated to re-
vive the drooping spirits of the soldiers, who suffered
excessively from the heavy rains, which had not
ceased to fall since their entrance into India.

Although Alexander treated Taxiles with such
distinguished honor and attention, he nevertheless
stationed a Macedonian garrison in his capital, and
left there all the invalids of the army, while he con-
ducted the rest to the Hydaspes, on the eastern bank
of which Porus had assembled his troops and pre-
pared to dispute the passage.

According even to the modern laws of war, Alex-
ander, after the conquest of Darius and the Persians,
was justified in requiring the obedience of all the
tribes which had formed component parts of their
empire. But — barbarous as oar military code still
18

274 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

continues to be — we should in vain search its pages
for a justification of a system of aggression similar
to that which Alexander was now directing against
the Indians. His conduct, however, must be exam-
ined, not on our principles, but on those of his
countrymen. The Greeks held that they were natur-
ally in a state of war with all barbarians, and that
nothing but a specific treaty could suspend this nat-
ural hostility. Those nations, therefore, between
whom and the Greeks such treaties did exist, were
termed Enspondi, and entitled to international rights.
All others were Ecspondi, and liable to be assailed,
despoiled, and enslaved without ceremony. Even
Aristotle writes that the Greek, from his superior
virtue and ability, had a natural right to seize and
claim the services of the barbarian; — while, on the
contrary, the barbarian who abused the chances of
war, and made a Greek his slave, was guilty of most
unnatural conduct. It is not, therefore, surprising
that the pupil of the Stagyrite felt himself justified
in exacting an acknowledgment of his supremacy
from all barbarians ; — and in warning those who dis-
puted his right, to take the field and abide the decis-
ion of the sword.

Modern Europeans, with the exception of the Span-
iards in Peru and Mexico, have managed such mat-
ters with more delicacy and semblance of justice —
but the final result has been the same.

We are informed by Strabo, that the Macedonians
marched in a southern direction from the bridge
across the Indus to the Ilydaspes. As there can be

-ffitat. 30.] THE HYDASPES— ELEPHANTS. £75

no doubt that the bridge was built in the vicinity of
Attock, we may be almost certain that the advance of
the army was along the main road leading from At-
tock to Jellick-pore, on the Hydaspes, now called the
Ihylun. The opposite bank of this noble river was
lined with the infantry and cavalry, the war-chariots,
and the elephants of Porus. Every spot, both above
and below the main road, that presented facilities for
crossing was diligently guarded. The invader
divided his troops into numerous bodies, and sent
them up and down the stream, in order to confuse
and distract the attention of the Indians; but they
were not to be thrown off their guard. In the mean-
time Alexander formed large magazines, as if he in-
tended to remain encamped till the waters should
decrease with the approaching winter : — for the rivers
of northern India, like the Euphrates and Tigris,
swell with the approach of the summer solstice, and
shrink within their channels in the winter. The
month of July still found Alexander on the right
bank, when he had to view the Hydaspes rolling down
a turbid and impetuous mass of waters, fourteen feet
deep, and a full mile broad. This obstacle alone
might easily have been overcome ; for the ships built
upon the Indus had been taken to pieces and carried
by land to the Hydaspes, and rafts and floats, sup-
ported on inflated hides, constructed in abundance.
But what rendered the passage dangerous, was the
line of elephants on the left bank. Alexander de-
spaired of being able to form his cavalry after
disembarking. He even doubted whether the horses

276 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

would not precipitate themselves from the floats into
the water, rather than face those large animals, the
sight, smell, and voice of which were equally objects
of alarm and abhorrence to the war-horse. The King,
therefore, was compelled to steal a passage ; and he
effected this in the following manner : —

He declared in public that it was his intention to
wait for the falling of the waters — although his
activity ceased not for a moment. For several nights
in succession he ordered lar^e detachments of cavalry
to parade the banks of the river, to sound their trum-
pets, to shout, sing pa?ans, and by outcries and dis-
sonant clamors rouse the attention of the enemy.
Poms for a time led his troops and elephants in a
parallel line with these disturbers of his repose; but
seeing that the alarms were not succeeded by any
serious attempts to cross, he gradually ceased to re-
gard them, or to harass his troops by useless night
marches. When the vigilance of Porus had been thus
lulled to sleep, Alexander prepared to put his plans
in execution. Ten miles above the camp he discov-
ered a wooded promontory, round which the river
made a considerable bend. About midway an island,
covered also with wood, and uninhabited, divided the
river into two main channels. He fixed upon this
spot as well adapted for his purposes, because the
woods and the island screened his operations from
the view of the enemy. For the dangerous enterprise
he selected five thousand cavalry and six thousand
infantry. Among the former were Scythians, Bac-
trians, and a thousand mounted archers from the

JEtat. 30.] PASSAGE OF THE HYDASPES. 277

Dahse tribe ; but the main strength was the formidable
Companion cavalry. The infantry were the guards,
two brigades of the phalanx, the Agrians, and the
bowmen. The leading officers were Ccenus, Perdic-
cas, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus, now men-
tioned for the first time, although destined to be the
greatest of Alexander's successors.

Craterus, whom, next to Alexander, the Macedo-
nians loved and admired, was left in command of the
camp. His orders were, to remain quiet if Porus
withdrew only a portion of his troops and elephants
to meet the King, but if he marched away with the
whole or greatest part, to cross immediately.

The night was dark, the rain fell in torrents, and
an Indian thunder-storm raged during the greatest
part of the night. The enemy, therefore, could
neither see nor hear the preparations on the right
bank. The clashing of armor and the cries of the
soldiers, as they embarked themselves and placed the
horses on the floats, were alike drowned in the loud
and incessant peals of thunder. According to Plu-
tarch, many men were destroyed by the lightning;
but it is worthy of observation that we do not read,
in ancient histories, of the death of any great soldier
from this cause. Cased as their warriors were in
polished steel, and with the point of the long lance
raised aloft, they must, according to the theories of
the present day, have been in imminent and peculiar
danger when exposed in a thunder-storm ; yet they
were apparently as safe as a modern lady in her robes
of silk. Let better philosophers than I am explain

278 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

the reason. With the dawn the storm ceased, and the
embarkation was completed. The transports then
pushed out into the river, and became visible to the
enemy's sentinels as soon as they had passed the
island before mentioned. These instantly gave the
alarm, which rapidly passed from post to post, and
was almost immediately communicated to Porus.
But the Indian king knew not how to act. The forces
of Craterus were in front, and consisted apparently
of the greatest part of the enemy's army; probably,
therefore, he judged it to be a false attack, and that
the real object was to induce him to quit his position.
He therefore dispatched his son, with 2000 cavalry
and 130 war chariots, to reconnoitre and act accord-
ing to circumstances. But these had to ride ten miles
before they could arrive on the ground.

During the interval, Alexander and his vessels had
reached what was imagined to be the opposite bank ;
here all were disembarked, the king as usual being
the first to land. The cavalry formed regularly on
the bank, and were followed by the infantry. But
they had not advanced far before they discovered that
they were on a second and larger island, separated
from the left bank by a less considerable stream, but
which, in consequence of the heavy rains, was swollen
to the dimensions of a formidable river. The horse-
men for a long time failed in discovering any ford,
and fears were entertained that the troops would have
to re-embark arid disembark a second time. At last a
place was found, where the infantry waded through
with the water above their breasts.

Mat. 30.] THE TROOPS OF PORUS. 279

They had, however, crossed this branch also, and
were formed for the second time, before the young
prince and his cavalry arrived. At first, Alexander
mistook them for the vanguard of the Indian army,
and accordingly treated them with due respect ; but
as soon as he had discovered their actual numbers,
and unsupported state, he charged them, at the head
of the Companion cavalry, with his usual impetu-
osity. They also, as soon as they discovered that the
King himself with a powerful force, had crossed,
thought of nothing but of making their retreat good.
They were eagerly pursued; 400 horsemen, and the
young prince, were slain; and the chariots, unable
to act in the miry and swampy soil, were all captured.

Poms, on hearing from the fugitives that the
King, with the most effective part of his troops, had
crossed, and that his son had fallen, left a few ele-
phants and a small force to observe the motions of
Craterus, and marched with all the strength of his
army to give Alexander battle. He had with him
4000 cavalry, 300 war-chariots, 200 elephants, and
30,000 infantry. These were all good soldiers, war-
riors by profession, well disciplined, and furnished
with excellent arms, both offensive and defensive.

When he had arrived on an open plain, the soil of
which was a firm sand, well adapted for the move-
ments of his cavalry and chariots, he drew up his
army in battle array, and waited the approach of the
Macedonians. In front he placed the elephants,
about a hundred feet distant from each other. Be-
hind them were drawn up the infantry, not in an

280 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

unbroken line, but with intervals behind each ele-
phant. The cavalry were distributed between the
two wings, and the war-chariots placed immediately
in front of them. Arrian praises the arrangement;
it was the very same which the Carthaginians, in
later days, practised. Alexander, at the head of his
pursuing cavalry, first came in sight of this formida-
ble array. He immediately halted his men, and
waited for the arrival of the infantry. His object
had been to surprise the enemy's camp, but the rapid
and skilful movement of Poms had anticipated this;
he was therefore obliged to content himself with mak-
ing various demonstrations with his cavalry, until the
phalanx had been formed and the men had recovered
their breath.

Even when these objects had been attained, he
could not immediately see how he was to act. He
knew from past experience that the horses would not
charge the elephants; and it appeared hazardous in
the extreme to form the phalanx into detached col-
umns, and lead them through the intervals between
the elephants, against the enemy's infantry; for if
these maintained their ground for ever so short a
period, the elephants, by a transverse motion, might
break the continuity of the columns and throw them
into irreparable confusion.

But the 11,000 commanded by Alexander were
soldiers, to a man, long accustomed to victory, and
full of confidence in themselves, in each other, and in
their leader.* They knew that, as long as they kept

* General Grant has noted the fact that frequent victory

Mtat. 30.] THE BATTLE. 281

together in their chivalry, it was of little consequence
whether the enemy was on their flank, in their rear,
or in front. They had not heard of the strange doc-
trines, propagated by the military pedants of modern
days, that men might be fairly beaten on the field of
battle, and yet, from ignorance of this vital fact, most
unfairly persevere in fighting, and thus wrest the
victory from their conquerors. Such an army, in
Alexander's hands, was a weapon which he could
wield at will, and which as truly obeyed the orders
communicated in words as the spear did the impulse
of the hand.

The infantry were ordered to remain where they
were, and not to move before they saw the success of
the cavalry. The latter were formed into two divis-
ions, of unequal force. The larger, commanded by
Alexander himself, advanced in an oblique direction,
in order to turn the left wing of the enemy and attack
him in the flank. Ccenus, with the smaller division,
was detached to perform the same manoeuvre on the
right of the Indian arnry.

Porus disregarded the movement of Ccenus, but
being alarmed by the appearance of the powerful
body of cavalry with which Alexander was threaten-
in? to attack his left wing, instantly ordered his own
cavalry of the right to move up by the rear to the sup-
port of his left ; at the same time he attempted to
change his front so as to place the advancing Mace-
donians between him and the river.

renders an army almost invincible. The value of each indi-
vidual soldier is increased after each victory.

282 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

Alexander, first sending out the mounted archers —
to attack the front of the left wing, and cover his
movements — by the discharge of missiles, turned it
himself, and prepared to attack it in the flank before
it could change its front. Ccenus in the meantime
had not only turned the enemy's right wing, but had
resolutely pursued the cavalry originally posted there,
until it had joined the left. The Indian cavalry were
thus compelled to oppose a double front, one to Alex-
ander, the other to Ccenus ; and while they were in the
act of doing so, the King charged. The Indians,
instead of receiving this manfully, took refuge among
the elephants, which by the change of front were now
brought to face the Macedonian cavalry; but the
phalanx under Seleucus, who had been attentively
waiting for an opportunity, advanced and saved the
cavalry from the charge of the elephants. Then oc-
curred a contest to which the Macedonians had hith-
erto witnessed nothing similar. The elephants boldly
advanced against the masses of infantry, and where
they made an impression caused great confusion. The
archers and the Agrians on the other hand, directed
their missiles not so much against the animals as
against their guides ; for an elephant deprived of his
guide was as dangerous to one party as to the other.
While this novel contest was going on, the Indian
cavalry recovered their courage and order, and sallied
forth to support the elephants, but they were again
met and driven back by Alexander and his horse,
who both in personal strength and skill surpassed tbe
Indians. Ccenus had already broken through, and

JStat. 30.J CAPTURE OF PORUS. 283

the whole Macedonian cavalry were thus "united. At
the head of these Alexander made repeated and des-
perate charges upon the Indian infantry, and where
he charged entirely broke their ranks. The scattered
troops universally took refuge among the elephants,
which by the activity of the Macedonian infantry
were gradually driven upon each other ; many, there-
fore, irritated by their wounds, and deprived of their
guides, became furious, and attacked friends and foes
indiscriminately; but their assailants gave them no
respite ; — giving way whenever a furious animal
rushed from the crowd, they pressed forwards upon
the others. At last the elephants wearied out ceased
to charge, and began to retire, trumpeting loudly with
their uplifted trunks, a sure sign that they had be-
come unmanageable. Arrian compares their retreat
to the motion of the ancient war-galley, rearing in
presence on an enemy with the stern foremost and the
beak to the foe.

Alexander then stationed his cavalry at intervals
round the confused mass; and the phalanx in closest
order, with shield linked to shield, and pikes pro-
jecting, advanced and bore down all opposition. At
this moment Craterus brought up his troops, and
pursued the enemy, who were flying in all directions
through the intervals between the Macedonian cav-
alry. According to Arrian, twenty thousand of the
Indian infantry, and three thousand of their cavalry,
fell in this bloody battle ; the chariots and surviving
elephants were all captured.

Porus himself, inferior to his antagonist in mili-

284 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

tary skill and talents, but not in valor, fought as long
as he could keep any of his troops together. His
height exceeded the common stature of man, and he
rode an elephant of proportionate size. He was
completely cased in armor with the exception of his
right arm, which was bared for the combat. His
cuirass was of great strength and beautiful workman-
ship, and when afterwards examined excited the ad-
miration of the Macedonians ; it was probably scale
armor.

Alexander had long witnessed the gallant bearing
of the Indian king, and the perseverance with which
he maintained the combat, for the battle lasted till
two o'clock in the afternoon. Anxious to save the life
of so brave an opponent, especially as he could see
that a wound in the shoulder had in some decree dis-
abled his right arm, the King desired Taxiles to ride
up and persuade him to surrender. Taxiles, how-
ever, was an ancient foe of Porus ; and this gallant
prince no sooner discovered him approaching, than he
turned his elephant against him, and would have
slain him, had not the speed of his horse quickly
borne him beyond the reach of his weapons. Alex-
ander, probably more amused than displeased with
this result, sent other messengers in succession, and
finally Meroes, an Indian, who, as he found, was an
old friend of the king. Porus listened to him, and
being overpowered by thirst caused by loss of blood,
the pain of the wound, and the noon-tide heat, de-
scended from his elephant; he then drank and cooled
himself, and was conducted bv Merees to Alexander

Mtat. 30.] CAPTURE OF PORUS. 285

who, attended by a few friends, rode forward to meet
the first potentate whom he had captured on the field
of battle. He admired not only the size and hand-
some person of the prisoner, but the total absence of
servility that characterized his bearing. He ap-
proached with all the confidence with which one
brave man should always approach another, and with
a consciousness that he had not impaired his claims
to respect, by gallantly defending his native kingdom
against invaders.

Alexander was the first to speak, and asked if he
had any request to make ? " Only to be treated like
a king, O Alexander," was the short and expressive
answer. " That shall be done (said the victor) on
my own account ; but ask any particular favor — and
it shall be granted for your own sake." " I have
nothing further to ask," said Porus, " for everything
is comprehended in my first request."

This was an enemy according to Alexander's own
heart ; he treated him with marked honor, gave him
his freedom on the spot, restored his kingdom, and
afterwards added largely to its extent. He was not
disappointed in the estimate he had made of the In-
dian's character, and found him ever after an at-
tached friend and a faithful subject.

The Macedonians who fell in the battle were
buried with public honors. Then thanksgiving sac-
rifices were offered to the gods, and the usual games
and festivities closed the ceremony.*

* " The battle was over. In fineness of plan and brilliancy
of execution it was Alexander's masterpiece. The army of

286 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

Craterus was ordered to superintend the building
of two new cities, one on each bank of the Hydaspes.
The object was to secure the passage in future. The
one on the left bank was named Xicsea, the other
Bucephala, in honor of the favorite Bucephalus
which died in the battle without a wound, being worn
out by age, heat, and over-exertion. He was then
thirty years old, and had been presented to Alexander
in early life by Demaratus the Corinthian. He was
a large, powerful, and spirited horse, and would al-
low no one but Alexander to mount him. From a
mark of a bull's head imprinted on him he had his
name Bucephalus, though some say that he was so
called because being a black horse he had on his fore-
head a white mark resembling a bull's head. Once
this famous charger, whose duties were restricted to
the field of battle, was intercepted and fell into the
hands of the Uxians. Alexander caused a proclama-
tion to be made, that, if Bucephalus were not re-
stored, he would wage a war of extirpation against
the whole nation. The restoration of the animal in-
stantly followed the receipt of the notification. So
great was Alexander's regard for his horse, and so
great the terror of his name among the barbarians.

Porus had been dashed in pieces, almost annihilated. Ac-
cording to Diodorus, twelve thousand had been slain ; Arrian
says twenty-three thousand. The chariots were shattered,
their drivers killed. Eighty elephants were captured, but
more had been killed. Among the slain were two sons of
King Porus. Of the stately array that on the morning lined
the river-bank and defied advance, at evening nothing re-
mained."— Benjamin Ide Wheeler.

iEtat. 30.] ASCESINES— HYDRAOTES. 287

" Thus far (writes Arrian) let Bucephalus be hon-
ored by me for the sake of his master."

The whole country between the Hydaspes and the
Acesines was reduced, and placed under the govern-
ment of Porus. The population was great and
wealthy, for Alexander received the submission of
thirty-five cities, not one of which contained fewer
than five thousand inhabitants. The Acesines (the
modern Chun-ab) was then crossed without much
difficulty, for the natives offered no opposition ; — but
the channel, as described by Ptolemy, the son of La-
gus, was nearly a mile broad. The principal chief
between the Ascesines and the Hydraotes was another
Porus, surnamed the Coward by the Macedonians.
Previously he had sent ambassadors and submitted
himself to Alexander's authority, but, on hearing that
his enemy the brave Porus was in high honor with
his victor, he lost confidence and fled with all his war-
riors beyond the Hydraotes. Alexander sent He-
phsestion to take possession of his dominions and de-
liver them to his rival. A second embassy also ar-
rived from Abissares, bringing large sums of money,
forty elephants, and promises of unconditional sub-
mission. But Alexander, who had discovered that
previous to the battle this prince had been on the
point of joining Porus, sent back a peremptory order
for him to appear in person or to expect a hostile
visit. He then led his army across the Hydraotes,
(the modern Iravati or Ravee,) and heard that a
warlike nation called Cathaians had roused two other
independent tribes to arms; and were preparing to re-

288 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

ceive him under the walls of a strong city called San-
gala. This nation, both from its name and for other
reasons, appears to have been Tatar, and not to have
been long established in the country. Porus and
Abissares had lately united arms and invaded their
settlements, but had been driven back with loss.

The Macedonians arrived before Sangala * on the
evening of the third day after crossing the Hydra-
otes; and found the Cathaian troops encamped on a
rising ground close to the city. Their camp was sur-
rounded with a triple line of wagons, which — with
the absence of elephants — amounts almost to con-
clusive proof of their Scythian origin. Alexander
attempted to charge the wagons with his cavalry, but
the Cathaian missiles easily repulsed him. The in-
fantry of the Phalanx was then brought up, and
carried the first line without much difficulty ; but the
second was not forced without considerable loss, as
they could not advance in order until they had with-
drawn all the wagons of the first line. They suc-
ceeded at last in bursting the triple barrier and driv-
ing its defenders into the town. This was inclosed
with a brick wall, and had a shallow lake on one side.
The inhabitants had no confidence in their fortifica-
tions, and repeatedly attempted to break out and i
cape. But the Macedonians had already thrown up
a double rampart round the whole city except on the
lake side. The besieged, therefore, determined to
ford this in the night and march away. Intimation
of their plan reached Alexander, who commissioned

* This is conjectured to be the modern Amritsir.

JEtat. 30.] THE CATHAIANS— SANGALA. 289

Ptolemy to prevent its execution. This officer in
haste gathered all the wagons which had formed the
triple barrier, and drew them up in a single line
round the edge of the lake. The Cathaians sallied
out at midnight, crossed the lake, but failed to force
the hastily erected barrier, and retired again to the
city. By this time the engines had battered down
the walls : — the army entered the breach and carried
the place by storm. Seventeen thousand of the Ca-
thaians were slain, and seventy thousand taken pris-
oners. A hundred Macedonians fell, twelve hun-
dred were wounded — Lysimachus and several other
leaders being among the latter. The great dispro-
portion between the wounded and the slain proves
that the Cathaian weapons were principally arrows
and hand-missiles, which seldom proved fatal to men
well furnished with defensive armor.

Eumenes, the secretary, (now mentioned for the
first time,) was sent with three hundred cavalry to
the two other tribes, who had made common cause
with the Cathaians. His orders were to promise an
amnesty for past proceedings and protection for the
future, provided they would submit ; but they had
already heard of the capture of Sangala, and moved
away in a body. Alexander pursued eagerly, but
could not overtake them, and in all probability they
did not halt until they had gained the mountains,
whence the Hydraotes descends. The territories of
the three tribes was given to Indians who in ancient
days had been independent, and who in the present

instance had willingly submitted to the Macedonians.
19

290 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

It appears more than probable that they had been de-
jDrived of them by the intrusive Cathaians.

Here Alexander received information, that India
beyond the Hyphasis — the modern Bezah, or perhaps
the united streams of the Bezah and Sutlege — was
very fertile, inhabited by warlike nations skilled in
agriculture, and wisely governed. He might also
have heard of the magnificent Palibothra, the Indian
Babylon, superior in wealth and power to the Assy-
rian, the seat of the great monarch whose authority
extended over all the Indian peninsula, and who
could lead into the field six hundred thousand in-
fantry, thirty thousand cavalry, and nine thousand
elephants. He heard also, that these animals in the
vale of the Ganges were far larger and bolder than
those of northern India. These reports excited the
spirit of Alexander, and he prepared to cross the
Hyphasis, and follow the great road that would con-
duct him to Palibothra, situated, according to Ar-
rian, at the junction of the Erannoboas and the
Ganges. But the Macedonians were worn out with
wounds, fatigue, and disease. During this cam-
paign they had been constantly drenched with the
rains, from which they suffered more than from all
their other perils and labors. Besides this they had
been disappointed in their Indian expedition in every
way. To use Arrian's words, they discovered " that
the Indians had no gold, and that they were by no
means luxurious in their mode of living, that they
were large of size, exceeding the common stature of
Asiatics, and by far the most warlike of the then in-

-ffitat. 30.] MURMURS OF THE ARMY. 291

habitants of Asia." Frequent meetings therefore
took place in the camp, and the formation of cir-
cles round individual speakers proved that the minds
of the men were deeply agitated. In these meetings
the more quiet characters only lamented their lot,
while others vehemently encouraged their comrades
to stand firm to each other, and to refuse to cross the
Hyphasis even if Alexander led the way.

The King soon discovered the symptoms of ap-
proaching mutiny, and that the disinclination to
march further south had extended from the privates
to the officers. Before, therefore, this feeling should
assume any more offensive form, he called a council
of war, to which all the officers of superior rank were
summoned. And as the speeches reported by Arrian
bear strong internal marks of being copied from the
original historians, I here introduce them.

" Macedonians and Allies, (said Alexander,) see-
ing that you do not follow me into dangers with your
usual alacrity, I have summoned you to this assem-
bly, that either I may persuade you to go further, or
you persuade me to turn back. If you have reason
to complain of our previous labors, or of me your
leader, I have no more to say ; but if by these labors
we have acquired Ionia, the Hellespont, with Phry-
gia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia,
Pamphylia, Phoenicia, Egypt, Cyrenaica, part of
Arabia, Coelo-Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Susiana,
Persia, Media, and all the provinces governed by the
Medes and Persians, and others never subject to
them; — If we have subdued the regions beyond the

292 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

Caspian Gates and Mount Caucasus, Hyrcania, Bac-
tria, and the countries between Caucasus, the river
Tanias, and the Hyrcanian sea ; — If we have driven
the Scythians back into their deserts, and the Indus,
the Hyclaspes, the Acesines flow within our empire,
why do you hesitate to pass the ITyphasis also, and
add the nations beyond it to the Macedonian con-
quests ? Or do you fear the successful resistance
of any of these barbarians, of whom, some willingly
submit, others are overtaken in their flight, others
escape, and leave their territories to be distributed
by us among our allies ?

" For my own part, I recognize no limits to the
labors of a high-spirited man, but the failure of
adequate objects ; yet if any one among you wishes to
know the limits of our present warfare, let him learn
that we are not far from the river Ganges and the
Eastern Ocean. This, I venture to assert, is con-
nected with the Hyrcanian Sea, for the great ocean
flows round the whole earth ; and I shall prove to the
Macedonians and their allies, that the Indian Gulf
flows into the Persian, and the Hyrcanian into the
Indian. From the Persian Gulf our fleet shall carry
our arms round Africa, until it reach the pillars of
Hercules, and Africa within the pillars be entirely
subject to us. Thus the boundaries of our empire
will be the same as those with which the deitv has
encircled the earth. But if we now turn back, many
warlike nations between the Hyphasis and the East-
ern Ocean, many in a northern direction between
these and the Hyrcanian Sea, and the Scythian tribes

JEtat. 30.] SPEECH OF ALEXENDER. 293

in the latter vicinity, will remain unsubdued. And
there is cause to fear lest the conquered nations, as yet
wavering in their fidelity, be excited to revolt by their
independent neighbors, and the fruits of our numer-
ous labors be thus entirely lost, or secured only by a
repetition of the same labors and dangers.

" But persevere, O Macedonians and allies —
glorious deeds are the fruits of labor and danger.
Life distinguished by deeds of valor is delightful,
and so is death when we leave behind us an immortal
name.

" Know we not that our ancestor did not, by re-
maining at Tirinthus, Argos, or even in the Pelopon-
nesus and Thebes, attain that glorious fame which
elevated him to the real or imaginary rank of a god ?
£Tor were the labors of Dionysus, a more venera-
ble deity than Hercules, trifling. But we have
advanced beyond Nysa ; and the flock Aornos
impregnable to Hercules, is in our possession. Add
therefore the remainder of Asia to our present acqui-
sitions, the smaller portion to the greater ; for we
ourselves could never have achieved any great and
memorable deeds had we lingered in Macedonia, and
been content without exertion to preserve our homes
and repulse the neighboring Thracians, Illyrians,
Triballi, or those Greeks who might prove hostile
to us.

" If I, your leader, exposed you to labors and
dangers from which I shrunk myself, there would be
cause for your faint-heartedness, seeing that you
endured the toils, and others enjoyed the rewards;

294 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

but our labors are in common; I, equally with you,
share in the dangers, and the rewards become the
public property. For the conquered country belongs
to you; you are its satraps; and among you the
greater part of its treasures has already been dis-
tributed. And when all Asia is subdued, I promise,
and I call Jupiter to witness, not only to satisfy, but
exceed the wishes of every individual ; — either in
person to lead, or safely to send into Macedonia, all
who wish to return home ; — and to render those who
may remain in Asia objects of envy to their returning
friends."

This speech, was succeeded by a deep silence.
They could not approve, yet no one wished to be the
first to oppose. Alexander repeatedly called on some
individual to express his sentiments, even if unfa-
vorable to his proposal ; yet all still remained silent.
At length Coenus, the son of Polemocrates, the oldest
of the generals, took courage and thus spoke —

" Since you, O King, are unwilling to lead the
Macedonians further by the mere exercise of your
authority, but propose to do so only in case you suc-
ceed in persuading them, and by no means to have
recourse to compulsion, I rise to speak, not in behalf
of myself and the great officers now present, — who,
as we have been honored especially, and have most of
us already received the reward of our labors, and
exercise authority over others, are zealous to serve you
in all things, — but in behalf of the great body of the
soldiers. . Nor will I advance what is calculated to
gain their favor alone, but what I judge most advan-

MUxt. 30.] REPLY OF CCENUS. 295

tageous to you for the present, and safest for the
future.

" And my age, the high authority delegated to me
by yourself, and the unhesitating boldness which I
have hitherto manifested in all dangerous enterprises,
give me the privilege of stating what appears to me
the best.

" The number and magnitude of the exploits
achieved under your command by us, who originally
accompanied you from Macedonia, are in my opinion
so many arguments for placing a limit to our labors
and dangers ; for you see how few of the Greeks and
Macedonians, who originally commenced the expedi-
tion, are now in the army. When you saw the Thes-
salians no longer encountering dangers with alacrity,
you acted wisely and sent them home from Bactra.
Of the other Greeks, some have been settled in the
cities founded by you, where all are not willing resi-
dents ; some still share in our toils and perils. They
and the Macedonians have lost some of their numbers
on the field of battle ; others have been disabled by
wounds ; others left behind in various parts of Asia ;
but the majority have perished by disease. A few
out of many now survive. Xor do they possess the
same bodily strength as before, while their spirits are
still more depressed. Those whose parents are still
living, long to revisit them. All long to behold once
more their wives, their children, and the homes of
their native land. This natural desire is pardonable
in men who, by your munificence, will return power-
ful and wealthy — not, as before, poor and without in-

29G ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

fluence. Do not, therefore, wish to lead us contrary
to our inclinations. For men whose heart is not in
the service, can never prove equally useful in the hour
of danger. And, if agreeable, do you also return
home with us, see your mother once more, arrange the
affairs of Greece, and place in your father's house
the trophies of our great and numerous victories.
When you have performed these duties, form a fresh
expedition against these same eastern Indians, if
such be your wish, or to the shores of the Euxine Sea,
or against Carthage, and the parts of Africa beyond
Carthage. You may select your object, and other
Macedonians and other Greeks will follow you — men
young and vigorous, not like us old and exhausted.
They, from inexperience, will despise the immediate
danger, and eagerly anticipate the rich rewards of
war. Thev will also naturally follow vou with the
greater alacrity, for having seen the companions of
your former dangers and toils return to their homes
in safety, wealthy instead of poor, and from obscurity
raised to great distinction. Besides, 0 King, mode-
ration in prosperity is above all things honorable,
and although you, at the head of your brave army,
have nothing to dread from mortal foes, yet the visi-
tations of the divinity are not to be foreseen, and men
therefore cannot guard against them."

At the close of the speech, the officers present
expressed their sympathy with the sentiments of
Ccenus by a general murmur of approbation, and the
tears which rolled down the cheeks of manv veterans

*

showed how earnestly they longed to turn their faces

ufttat. 30.] SECLUSION OF ALEXANDER. 297

homewards. But the disappointment was greater
than the ardent feelings of Alexander could well bear.
Equally displeased with the remonstrance of Coenus,
and with the hesitation of the others, the King broke
up the council abruptly. Next day he again sum-
moned it, and angrily declared that it was his inten-
tion to advance, but not to enforce the attendance of
any Macedonian — that he would retain only those
who were willing to follow their sovereign — that the
rest might return home, and tell their families that
they had deserted Alexander in the midst of his ene-
mies. When he had hastily spoken these few words,
he retired to his tent. There he secluded himself for
three days, refusing admission to his most intimate
friends, and evidently expecting some favorable
change in the minds of the soldiers. But when a
deep silence continued to pervade the camp, and the
troops manifested great sorrow at the king's displeas-
ure, but no inclination to change their resolution, he
yielded to necessity, and took the course best adapted
to maintain his own dignity. He sacrificed, and
found, as might be expected, the omens decidedly
adverse to the passage of the Hyphasis. He then
called together the oldest officers and his own most in-
timate friends, and through them announced to the
army the unfavorable state of the auspices, and his
consequent intention to return. The announcement
was welcomed with shouts of joy ; most of the soldiers
wept aloud, and, crowding round the king's tent, im-
plored countless blessings upon his head, who, invin-

298 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

cible to others, had allowed himself to be overcome
by them.

On the banks of the Hyphasis he erected twelve
towers in the shape of altars; monuments of the
extent of his career, and testimonies of his gratitude
to the gods. On these gigantic altars he offered sacri-
fices with all due solemnity, and horse races and gym-
nastic contests closed the festivities.

We must all sympathize with the feelings of the
Macedonian veterans, so simply and yet eloquently
described by Ccenus, and while we respect the firm-
ness of their resolution, admire their calm and tran-
quil manner of expressing it. But would it had been
otherwise ! The great barriers that protect Hindo-
stan had been forced, and the road to Palibothra was
open. According to the Sandracottus, (or great
Indian sovereign,) with whom Seleucus formed a
treaty of friendship and alliance, his immediate
predecessor was an usurper and a tyrant, and conse-
quently odious to his subjects. Since the defeat of
Porus on the Hydaspes, Alexander had met no serious
resistance, except from the Cathaians ; nor does it
appear, from good authority, that any nations to the
east of the Hyphasis had combined for the purpose
of mutual defence. It is certain that there were no
troops on the left bank of the Hyphasis. According
to Curtius, the country between the Hyphasis and
the Ganges was a desert, for the space of eleven
days' journey. On the Ganges,* the Gandarides

* Plutarch, with the most culpable negligence, unless in-
deed a more serious charge may justly be brought against him,

-ffitat. 30.] INDIA BEYOND THE HYPHASIS. 299

and the Prasians were the two predominant nations.
Had the Macedonians persevered, and made them-
selves masters of the peninsula, we might have de-
rived most valuable information on points concerning
which we must now remain ignorant : for hitherto
the literary remains of the ancient Hindoos have not
presented any distinct notices that can be referred
to the era of Alexander. All is enveloped in the
clouds of mythology and allegory, where nothing
clear and definite can be discerned.

Alexander returned from the Hyphasis, recrossed
the Hydraotes and Acesines, and arrived on the
banks of the Hydaspes. In building the new cities of
Nicsea and Bucephala, sufficient allowance had not
been made for the rise of the river. The waters had
therefore seriously damaged them. The towns were
now repaired, and the mistake corrected. Here a
third embassy from Abissares waited upon Alexan-
der, and among other presents brought thirty more
elephants. A severe illness was alleged to be the sole
cause of the king's absence; and as, upon inquiry,
the allegation appeared true, the apology was
accepted, and the future amount of tribute deter-
mined. During the whole summer, part of the
troops had been engaged in shipbuilding, on the
banks of the Hydaspes. The timber was found in
the mountain forests through which the river de-
scended into the plain, and consisted, according to
Strabo, of firs, pines, cedars, and other trees well

boldly conducts Alexander to the Ganges, and lines its opposite
banks with innumerable foes.

300 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

adapted for the purpose. The men employed in fel-
ling the timber disturbed a great multitude of mon-
keys and baboons. These, nocking to the crown of a
hill, whence they could view the destruction of their
ancient sanctuaries, presented to the workmen the
appearance of disciplined troops, and they were has-
tily preparing to arm themselves and march against
their supposed foes, when they were undeceived by
their native comrades.

While all were busily engaged in preparing for
the voyage the veteran Coenus fell ill and died. He
had taken a distinguished part in all the great battles;
was an officer in whom Alexander had placed implicit
confidence ; and he was buried with all the magnifi-
cence and honors which circumstances would admit.
An assembly of the general officers and of the depu-
ties from various nations was then held, in which
Porus was proclaimed king of seven Indian nations
that comprised within their limits two thousand
cities. The three hundred horsemen were sent back
to the city of Dionysus, and Philip appointed satrap
of the country immediately to the west of the Indus.
The army was then separated into three divisions :
Hephaestion led one, including the elephants, amount-
ing to two hundred, down the left, and Craterus
another division down the right bank. The third
embarked with Alexander on board the fleet, consist-
ing of eighty triaconters, and of more than two
thousand river craft of every description, partly built
and partly collected. The triaconters were thirty-
oared gallies, constructed on the plan of the ancient

JEt&t. 30.] VOYAGE DOWN THE HYDASPES. 301

ships of war. Nearchus was appointed admiral, and
Onesicritus, a Greek islander, chief pilot or master
of the whole fleet. The crews consisted of Phoeni-
cians, Cyprians, Carians and Egyptians, who had
followed the expedition.

When all the preparations had been completed,
sacrifices were offered to Neptune, Amphitrite, the
Nadiades, and other gods. A public feast with the
usual games followed. The army then embarked
with the dawn ; and Alexander, standing on the
prow of his own ship, poured from a golden cup a
libation into the stream of the Hydaspes. He then
invoked the river god of the Acesines, of which the
Hydaspes was a tributary, and the still more power-
ful deity of the Indus, into which the united waters
of both discharged themselves. Great as were the
honors paid by the Greeks to their streams, they fell
infinitely short of the veneration in which these are
to this day held by the Hindoos. The trumpet then
gave the signal for casting off, and the whole forest
of vessels moved majestically down the river. The
strokes of the innumerable oars, the voices of the
officers who regulated the motions, and the loud cries
of the rowers as they simultaneously struck the
waters, produced sounds singularly pleasing and har-
monious. The banks, in many places loftier than the
vessels, and the ravines that retired from either side,
served to swell, re-echo, and prolong the notes. The
appearance also of the gallant soldiers on the decks,
and especially of the war-horses — seen through the
lattice-work of the sides of the strong vessels, pur-

302 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

posely built for their conveyance — struck the gazing
barbarians with astonishment and admiration. Even
Hercules and Dionysus were surpassed, for neither
tradition nor fable had ascribed a naval armament
to them. The Indians of Nics-ea and Bucephala,
whence the fleet departed, accompanied its motions
to a great distance, and the dense population on both
sides, attracted by the sounds, rushed down to the
edge of the river, and expressed their admiration in,
wild chants and dances. " For (writes Arrian)
the Indians are lovers of the song and the dance —
ever since Dionysus and his Bacchanalians revelled
through their land."

In ei^ht davs the fleet arrived near the confluence
of the Hydaspes and the Acesines. The channel of
their united streams is contracted immediately below
the point of junction. The current is consequently
sharp and rapid, and strong eddies are formed by
the struggling waters that swell in waves and en-
counter each other, so that the roar of the conflict is
audible from a great distance. Alexander and the
crews had been forewarned by the natives of these
narrows, probably the remains of a worn-down catar-
act. Yet as they approached the confluence, the
sailors were so alarmed by the loud roar of the waters,
that they simultaneously suspended the action of
their oars, and even the regulators became mute, and
listened in silence to the harsh greetings of the sister
streams.

On nearing the upper edge of the narrows, the
pilots ordered the rowers to ply their oars with their

-ffitat. 30.] CONFLUENCE— NARROWS. 303

utmost activity, and thus rapidly impel the vessels
over the boiling surge. The rounder and shorter
vessels passed through in safety; but the galleys, the
extreme length of which rendered the exposure of
their broadsides to the current particularly danger-
ous, were not so fortunate. Several were damaged,
some had the blades of their oars snapped asunder,
and two fell aboard of each other, and sunk with the
greater part of their crews. A small promontory
on the right side offered shelter and protection, and
here Alexander moored his partly disabled fleet.

The Indians on each side had hitherto submitted,
or if refractory, had been easily subdued ; but Alex-
ander here received information that the Malli and
Oxydracae, two powerful and free states, compared by
Arrian for their military skill and valor to the
Cathauans, were preparing to give him a hostile
reception, and dispute the passage through their ter-
ritories. The Malli occupied the country between
the lower part of the courses of the Hydraotes and
the Acesines, and also the district beyond the Hy-
droates in the same line. The plan agreed upon by
the two nations was, for the Malli to send their war-
riors lower down into the country of the Oxydracse,
and to make it the scene of warfare. The Malli
looked upon themselves as sufficiently protected from
any lateral attack by a considerable desert that inter-
vened between their upper settlements and the banks
of the Acesines.

Craterus and Hephsnstion had already arrived at
the confluence. The elephants were ferried across

304: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

and placed under the care of Craterus, who was to
continue his route along the right bank of the Aces-
ines. Nearchus was ordered to conduct the fleet
to the i unction of the Hvdraotes and Acesines. The
remaining troops were divided into three parts.
PIepha?stion with one division commenced his march
~Q.ye days before Alexander, and Ptolemy was ordered
to remain with another for three davs after Alexan-
der had departed. The intention of this distribu-
tion was to distract the enemy's attention, and that
those who fled to the front should be intercepted by
Hephcestion, those who fled to the rear by Ptolemy.
The different bodies were told to meet again at the
confluence of the Hvdraotes and Acesines.

Alexander selected for his own division the guards,
the bowmen, the Agrians, the brigade of Companion
infantry, all the mounted archers, and one half of the
Companion cavalry. With these he inarched later-
ally from the left bank of the Acesines, and en-
camped by the side of a small stream which skirted
the western edge of the desert, that intervened
between him and the upper settlements of the Malli
upon the Hvdraotes.

Here he allowed the men to take a short repose,
after which they were ordered to fill all their ves-
sels with water. He then marched during the
remainder of the day and all night, and with the
dawn arrived before a Malli an city, the inhabitants
of which had no fears of being attacked thus sud-
denly from the side of the desert. Many, accord-
ing to the early habits of their country, were already

JEtat. 30.] THE MALLI— HYDRAOTES. 305

in the fields. When these had been slain or cap-
tured, Alexander placed detachments of cavalry
round the town, until the arrival of the infantry.
Their march across the desert had exceeded twenty-
five miles, nevertheless, as soon as they had come
up, they carried by storm first the city and then
the citadel, although the Malli fought boldly and
resolutely. But Alexander's march across the desert
had taken them by surprise, and entirely deranged
the plans of their leaders, who had conducted their
warriors down the river. The cities, therefore,
even the most important, were evacuated on the
King's approach, and their inhabitants either fled
beyond the Tlydraotes or took refuge in the dense
jungles that lined the banks of that river.

The capture of the first city was the morning's
work ; the afternoon was given to repose. At six
in the evening the march was resumed and con-
tinued through the night ; and with the break of day
the army reached the Hydraotes — where they over-
took some of the fugitive Malli, in the act of crossing
the river. All who refused to surrender were put to
the sword : the main body escaped into a city strongly
walled and situated. Against these Peithon was
detached, who stormed the place and captured the
garrison.

Alexander then crossed to the left bank of the
Hvdraotes, and arrived at a Brahmin town. It is
impossible to say whether all the inhabitants were
Brahmins, or whether the city was merely the prop-
erty of that dominant caste. They, as was their
20

306 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

bounden duty, had been active in exciting their coun-
trymen against the invaders, and were not back-
wards in gving them a brave example. When the
walls had been undermined and breaches made, the
Brahmins retired to the citadel, which was gallantly
defended. Alexander himself was the first to scale
the walls, and remained for a time the sole captor of
the fortress. Five thousand Indians were slain, as
no quarter could be given either to the warriors, who
fought while life remained, or to the inhabitants,
who closed their doors and set fire to their houses with
their own hands.

The army then reposed for one day, after which
Peithon and Demetrius, a cavalry officer, were sent
to scour the jungles on the left bank of the Hydra-
otes. Their orders were to put all who resisted to
the sword. It was in these jungles probably that
Peithon killed the largest snake which the Macedo-
nians saw in India. It was twentv-four feet Ions;;
and although this is but a small size for a boa con-
strictor, it was a monster to which the Greeks had
seen nothing similar, as the marshes of Lerna and the
borders of the Lake Copais had, since the heroic ages,
ceased to teem with these enormous reptiles. But the
Indians assured them that serpents of a far
greater magnitude were to be seen. According
to Onesicritus, the ambassadors of Abissares men-
tioned in Alexander's court, that their sovereign
possessed two, of which the smaller was eighty, the
larger one hundred and forty cubits long.* It is

* It is difficult to credit these snake stories. The cubit be-

-ffitat. 30.] PUESUIT OF THE MALLI. 307

curious that the Macedonians did not see a royal
Bengal Tiger, although in modern days his ravages
are very destructive between Guzerat and the lower
Indus. They saw his skin, and heard exaggerated
tales respecting his size, strength, and ferocity. Is
it a fair inference from his non-appearance in the
vales of the Indus and its tributaries — that the na-
tives of those regions were, at the period of the Mace-
donian invasion, more powerful, populous, and war-
like, than in our days ?

Alexander himself marched against the principal
city of the Malli ; but it, like many others on the left
bank of the Hydraotes, was found evacuated: — the
inhabitants having crossed to the right bank, where
the whole warlike force of the nation was now united.
Their numbers amounted to 50,000, and their inten-
tion was to dispute the passage of the Hydraotes and
prevent him from recrossing that stream. Thither,
therefore, without delay he directed his course, and
as soon as he saw the enemy on the opposite bank,
dashed into the river at the head of his cavalry. The
Havee or Hydraotes is in July more than five hun-
dred yards broad, and twelve feet deep. In the dry
season the breadth remains nearly the same, but tha
depth does not exceed four feet. The autumn being
far advanced at the time that Alexander crossed, the

ing about nineteen inches, the larger of these serpents would
be 266 feet long. But Livy tells of a serpent 120 feet in length
that devoured several Roman soldiers in Africa, and it is said
that the skin of that reptile was long preserved at Rome.
Captain Speke killed a serpent in Africa 51| feet long.

308 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

waters were probably at their lowest point of depres-
sion.

We may well be astonished at the extraordinary
boldness, not to say rashness, with which the King,
unsupported by infantry, prepared to ford a river
of this magnitude, in the face of more than 50,000
enemies. But during these operations he was evi-
dently acting under morbid excitement. He was
angry with his soldiers, who, while they loved and
adored him, had vet thwarted his schemes of univer-
sal conquest, and checked him in the full career of
victory. He, therefore, expended his wrath and
soothed his irritation by courting dangers, setting his
life at nought, and like the heroes of old, achieving
victory with his own right hand and trusty sword.
His energy was terrific, and the Indians were para-
lyzed by the reckless daring that characterized every
action.

On the present occasion, as soon as they saw that
he had gained the middle of the stream, they retired,
but in good order, from the bank. He pursued, but
when the Malli perceived that he was not supported
by infantry, they awaited his approach and vigorous-
ly repelled the charges of the cavalry. Alexander
then adopted the Parthian tactics, wheeled round their
flanks, made false attacks, and thus impeded their
retreat, without bringins: his cavalry in contact with
their dense mass of infantry. But the light troops,
the formidable Agrians, and the archers, soon came
up, and were instantly led on by himself, while at
the same time the phalanx, bristling with pikes, was

JEt&t. 30.] RASHNESS OF ALEXANDER. 309

seen advancing over the plain. The Indians, panic-
struck, broke their ranks and fled into the strongest
city in the neighborhood. Alexander, pursued with
the cavalry, slew many in their flight, and when he
had driven the survivors into the citv, surrounded it
with detachments of cavalry, until the arrival of the
infantry. It was now late in the day, and the sol-
diers were wearied with the length of the march, the
horses fatigued with the sharpness of the pursuit,
and with the toilsome passage of the river. The
following night was therefore given to repose.

Xext day the army was formed into two divisions ;
Perdiccas led one, and Alexander the other. The
assault was given ; and the king's division soon broke
open a postern gate and rushed into the city. The
defenders immediately quitted the walls, and hurried
into the citadel. The desertion of the walls was
regarded by Perdiccas as a proof of the capture of
the city. He, therefore, suspended the attack from his
side. Alexander had closely followed the retreating
enemy, and was now preparing to storm the citadel,
of which the defenders were numerous and resolute.

Some were ordered to undermine, and others to
scale the walls. But the motions of those who were
bringing up the ladders seemed slow to his impatient
mind. He, therefore, seized a scaling-ladder from
the foremost bearer, placed it against the wall, and
ascended under the protection of his shield. He had
captured one fortress already, and seemed determined
to owe the possession of another to his own personal
prowess. Close behind the king ascended Peucestas,

310 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

bearing the sacred buckler, taken from the temple of
the Ilian Minerva. He was followed bv Leonnatus,
the son of Eunus, a commander of the body guard.
Abreas, a soldier of the class to whom, for superior
merit, double pay and allowances were assigned, was
ascending by another ladder.

The Indian wall had no battlements nor embra-
sures. Alexander, therefore, placing the lowest
rim of his shield on the coping, partly with it thrust
back his immediate opponents, and partly swept them
off with his sword. He then mounted and stood
alone on the wall. At this moment, the guards
alarmed beyond measure by the dangerous position
of the king, crowded the ladders, which broke under
their weight.

The Indians easily recognized Alexander, both by
the splendor of his arms, and by his uncalculating
boldness. At him, therefore, was aimed every mis-
sile, both from the neighboring bastions, and from the
body of the place, whence, as the wall on the inside
was low, he could be struck almost with the hand;
but no one came near him. He felt that while he.
remained thus exposed, the peril was great, and active
exertion impossible. He scorned to leap back into
the arms of his beseeching guards ; but were he to
spring into the citadel, the very boldness of the deed
might appal the barbarians and ensure his safety.
Even should the event prove fatal, the feelings of
Alexander were in unison with those of the Homeric
Hector. " At least let me not perish ingloriously;

Mt&t. 30.] RASHNESS OF ALEXANDER. 311

without exertion, but in the performance of some
great deed of which posterity shall hear."

Animated by this principle, he sprung from the
wall into the fortress, and the gleamings of his
armor flashed like lightning in the eyes of the bar-
barians ; for the moment they retired — but were
immediately rallied by the governor, who himself
led them to the attack. Alexander had, for greater
safety, placed his back against the wall. In this
position he slew his first assailant, the governor, with
the sword — checked the advance of a second, and of a
third with large stones, favorite weapons with the
Homeric heroes — and again with his sword slew the
fourth, who had closed with him. The barbarians
daunted by the fate of their comrades, no longer
drew near, but formed themselves into a semicircle,
and showered missiles of every description upon him.

At this critical moment Peucestas, Leonnatus, and
Abreas, who, when the ladders broke, had clung to
the walls, and finally made their footing good, leaped
down and fought in front of the king. Abreas soon
fell, being pierced in the forehead by an arrow. The
ancients wore no vizors, and trusted to the shield and
eye for the protection of the face. But a vizor would
not have availed Abreas in the present case, for the
Indian arrow, as described by Arrian, was irre-
sistible. " The bow (says he) is six feet long, the
archer places the lower end on the ground, then steps
forward with his left foot, draws the string far back,
and discharges an arrow nearly three cubits long.
Xo armor can resist it, when shot by a skillful Indian

312 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

archer, nor shield, nor breastplate, nor any other de-
fence." This Alexander himself was doomed to
experience, for one of these formidable archers,
taking his station at a proper distance, took deliberate
aim, and struck him on the breast, above the pap.
The arrow pierced through his cuirass, formed as it
was of steel of proof, and remained deeply fixed in
the bone. Severe as the wound was it did not imme-
diately disable him for further exertion, or as Homer
would say, " relax his limbs," and while the blood
was warm he continued to defend himself. But in a
short time the loss of blood and the extreme pain
necessarily -attendant on every motion, brought on a
dizziness and faintness, and he sunk down behind
his shield and dropped his head on its uppermost rim.
The very position indicates great self-possession, for
helpless as he was he presented no vulnerable part to
the enemy. Peucestas and Leonnatus performed
their duty gallantly and affectionately; they neg-
lected their own persons, and held both their shields
in front of their bleeding sovereign. While thus
engaged they were both wounded with arrows, and
Alexander was on the point of fainting.

But the Macedonians were scaling the wall in
various ways : — some drove pegs into it and thus
climbed up, others mounted on their comrades'
shoulders, and every one, as he gained the summit,
threw himself headlong into the citadel. There,
when they saw Alexander fallen, for he had swooned
at last for want of blood, they uttered loud lamen-
tations, and hurried to place themselves between him

Mtat. 30.] WOUNDED DANGEROUSLY. 313

and his assailants. Some broke the bar of a postern
gate and admitted their companions. But as the
narrow entrance did not allow many to pass through
at the same time, the excluded troops, who now
heard that the king was slain, became furious, smote
down the wall on each side of the gate, and rushed
in through the breach. Alexander was placed on his
shield, the bier of the ancient warrior, and was borne
out by his friends, who knew not whether he was
alive or dead. The soldiers then gave the reins to
their angry passions, and every man, woman, and
child, within the walls, were put to the sword.

This perilous adventure of the conqueror of Asia
was variously described by his numerous historians,
some of whom were far more anxious to study effect
than to ascertain the truth. " According to some,"
says Arrian, " Critodemus of Cos, a physician of the
race of zEsculapius, enlarged the wound and ex-
tracted the arrow ; according to others Perdiccas,
by Alexander's own desire, as no surgeon was present,
cut open the wound with his sword, and thus extri-
cated the arrow. The operation was accompanied
with great loss of blood; Alexander again fainted,
and further effusion was thus stayed. . . . According
to Ptolemy the breath, together with the blood,
rushed through the orifice. . . . Many fictions also
have been recorded by historians concerning this
accident, and Fame, receiving them from the original
inventors, preserves them to this day. Nor will she
cease to hand down such falsehoods to posterity
except they be crushed by this history. The common

314- ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

belief is, that this accident befel Alexander among
the Oxydraca?; but it occurred among the Malli, an
independent Indian nation. The city was Mallian,
the archer who wounded Alexander was a Mallian.
They had certainly agreed to join the Oxydraca?, and
give battle to Alexander, but the suddenness and
rapidity of his march across the desert had prevented
either of these peoples from giving any aid to the
other."

Before the king's wound would allow him to be
moved the various divisions of the grand army had ar-
rived at the confluence of the Hvdraotes and Acesines.
The first account that reached the camp, was that
Alexander had been killed, and loud were the lamen-
tations of all as the mournful tidings spread from
man to man ; then succeeded feelings of despondency
and doubt, and the appointment of a commander-in-
chief seemed likelv to be attended with difficulties
and danger. Many Macedonians appeared to pos-
sess equal claims ; some from high birth and seniority,
others from greater talents and popularity — and no
one since Parmenio's death had been regarded by
all as the second in command. Alexander led
120,000 men into India, an army composed of the
boldest and most adventurous spirits of the different
regions which he had traversed. It was not likelv,
that when the master spirit, the guiding mind, the
only centre of union, was lost, this great mass of
discordant materials would continue to act on com-
mon principles. Many satraps, who hated the Mace-
donian supremacy, were personally attached to Alex-

^Etat. 30.] ALARM OF THE ARMY. 315

ander; when the only link was broken, their revolt
would necessarily follow. The conquered nations,
also, no longer paralyzed by the magic of a name,
would rise and assert their national independence;
finally, the numerous and warlike tribes, hitherto
unsubdued, would beset their homeward path, and
treat them more as broken fugitives than returning
conquerors. Depressed by these considerations, the
Macedonians felt that, deprived of their king, they
had innumerable dangers and difficulties to en-
counter.

When the report of his death was contradicted they
could not believe his recovery possible, and still re-
garded his death as inevitable ; even when letters
from himself, announcing his speedy arrival at the
camp were received, the soldiers remained incred-
ulous— suspecting them to be forgeries of the com-
manders of the guard, and the other generals. Alex-
ander, therefore, anxious to obviate any commotions,
was conveyed as soon as he could be moved with
safety, to the banks of the Hydraotes; there he was
placed on board a vessel and sailed down the river.
When he drew near to the camp he ordered the
awning which overhung the couch on which he was
reclining, to be removed ; but the troops, who crowded
the banks, imagined they saw the dead body of their
king. When, however, the vessel drew nearer, Alex-
ander raised his arms and stretched his hand out to
the multitude ; this signal proof of life and conscious-
ness was welcomed with loud cheers, and the whole
body of soldiers lifted up their hands to heaven, or

316 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

stretched them towards the king, while tears involun-
tarily gushed from many eyes.

He was carried from the vessel; but borrowing
new strength from his enthusiastic reception, refused
the litter which was offered by the guards, and called
for a horse. He mounted, and rode slowly through
the crowd. This additional proof of his convales-
cence was hailed with redoubled cheers and applause ;
on approaching the royal tent he dismounted and
walked. Then the soldiers crowded around him;
some touched his hands, some his knees, some the hem
of his garments, some, satisfied with a nearer view,
implored blessings on him and withdrew, and others
covered him with garlands and the flowers of the
clime and season.

The friends who supported his steps were harsh in
their reproofs of his reckless conduct, and blamed
him in no measured terms for endangering his life
without an adequate object, and performing the
duties of a soldier and not of a commander-in-chief.
A Boeotian veteran had tact enough to observe, from
the king's countenance, that these remonstrances
were far from agreeable, and certainly not the more
so as they were founded in truth ; he, therefore, ap-
proached, and in his native dialect said, " O Alex-
ander, actions characterize the hero ;" and then re-
peated an Iambic line expressive of this sentiment : —

" He who strikes must also bleed."

Alexander was pleased witli the readiness and apt-
ness of the quotation, and the wit of the veteran,

JEtat. 30.] RETURN TO THE CAMP. 317

Boeotian as he was, procured him present applause
and future patronage.

The friends on whom Alexander leaned after dis-
mounting were most probably Hephsestion and
Craterus, the two chief commanders in the station-
ary camp. The former, mild and gentle, cannot be
suspected of treating his indulgent sovereign with
asperity; but Craterus, who was accused by Alex-
i ander himself of " loving the king more than Alex-
ander/' might justly remonstrate with the hero for
rashly endangering the invaluable life of the prince.

The Malli and Oxydracse sent embassies to the
naval station. The deputies were commissioned
to present the submission of both nations ; the Malli
soliciting pardon for their resistance, the Oxydracse,
for their tardy surrender. According to their decla-
rations, they had enjoyed national independence
since the conquest of India by Dionysus, but under-
standing that Alexander, also, was of the race of the
gods, they were willing to obey his satrap and pay
a stipulated tribute. The punishment inflicted upon
the Malli, was, in Alexander's estimation, sufficient
to ensure their future obedience ; but from the
Oxydracse he exacted 1,000 hostages, the bravest and
noblest of the nation. ISTot only were these imme-
diately sent, but 500 war-chariots, with their equip-
ments, were added. The king, pleased with this
magnificent proof of goodwill and sincerity, accepted
the gift and returned the hostages.

These Malli and Oxydracse are represented, proba-
bly in name, certainly in situation, by the modern

I

318 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 326.

inhabitants of Multan and Uchh; the former is on
the left of the Acesines, with the cognate city of
Multan between the Hydraotes and Hyphasis;*
Uchh is lower down, not far from the confluence of
the Hyphasis and Acesines. Both nations were
added to the satrapy of Philip.

While the wound was healing and Alexander re-
covering his strength, the army were employed in
building additional ships. Near the confluence was
a large banyan tree, below which, according to Aris-
tobulus, fifty horsemen could at the same time be
shaded from the sun. It might be worth ascertain-
ing, as connected with the age of this species of tree,
whether there be one of great size and apparent anti-
quity in this vicinity. Onesicritus, as quoted by
Strabo, has so accurately described the mode in which
one of these natural phenomena increases to a forest,
that it is evident he had seen one of the greatest mag-
nitude, perhaps equal to give refuge under its
branches to 10,000 men.

On some part of the river, between JSTicsea and the
stationary camp, Alexander had visited a prince by
name Sopeithes, who voluntarily submitted to the
invader; his dominions were celebrated for a race
of fierce dogs, equal, according to the accounts of both
Curtius and Strabo, to the English bulldog.

* The Hydraotes is the modern Chenab (?), and the Hy-
phasis the modern Beas, both in British India.

CHAPTER XIV.

NINTH CAMPAIGN, B. C. 325.

Alexander, with an increased fleet, fell down the
Acesines into the Indus ; here he was joined by more
vessels, which had been built in various places on the
latter river. He ordered a town to be built, and
naval docks constructed, at the confluence as in his
estimation it was a spot well calculated to become
the site of a powerful city. A strong body of men
was left there, including the Thracians of the army,
and all were placed under the superintendence of
Philip. His father-in-law, Oxyartes, visited him
here, and was appointed satrap of the Paropamisan
districts.

Thence he sailed down the Indus to the royal
palace of the Sogdi, deriving their name most prob-
ably, like their northern namesakes, from the great
vale occupied by them. The elephants, under Cra-
terus, had been repeatedly ferried across, as the
nature of the country favored their movements on
either side. They were now transferred to the right
bank for the last time, and advanced through the
country of the Arachosii and Drangse, of whom Ar-
rian makes the Indus the eastern limit.

319

320 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

He himself sailed down the river into the domin-
ions of Musicanus, said to have possessed the
wealthiest and most productive regions in that part
of India. This description suits well with the rich
and well-watered plains between the lower course of
the Aral, (the Arabis of Ptolemy,) and the Indus. . .
Musicanus and Oxycanus (the appellation of a
neighboring chief) point, probably, the names of the
territories, governed by these princes ; — as the word
khan is constantly found, even to this day, on the
lower Indus ; such are chack-khangur, and gui-khan,
and other similar compounds. . .Musicanus, (who per-
haps might be jDroperly described, in the modern
English fashion, as the rajah of Moosh, and Oxyca-
nus, as the rajah of Ouche,) had sent no ambassadors
to make peace, offer presents, or request favors ; nor
taken any step which a wise governor ought to have
done, on learning the approach of the extraordinary
conqueror, whom the current of the Indus was
certain to bear into the heart of his dominions.

He took the alarm, however, when Alexander had
reached the upper confines of his realms, and came
to meet him with presents, with all his elephants, and
what was more likely to procure favor, with an
apology for his previous neglect. He was restored
to his government, but Alexander, admiring the ad-
vantageous site of his principal town, built within it
a citadel, well calculated in his opinion to keep the
neighboring tribes in awe. We have seen before,
that even in the case of Taxiles,he made no exception,
but placed a garrison in his capital. His plan was,

JEtat. 31.] OXYCANUS— MUSICANUS. 321

to treat friendly chiefs with great kindness, but to
put it out of their power to revolt.

Oxycanus attempted resistance, but Alexander
captured his two principal cities, and himself in one
of them, with his cavalry and light troops alone;
for, as Arrian strongly expresses it, the minds of all
the Indians were struck with servile terror by Alex-
ander and his success.

He then entered the dominions of Sabbas or Sam-
bus, who formerly had been appointed satrap of these
regions by Alexander, but who, like the cowardly
Porus, no sooner heard that Musicanus, his enemy,
had been well treated by the king, than he fled into
the desert. On approaching his capital, Sindo-mana,
of which the very name proves its situation on the
Indus, called by the natives, both in ancient and
modern times, the Sinde, the Macedonians found the
gates open, and the public officers ready to deliver
up the treasures, and the elephants — as, according to
them, Sabbas had fled, not from disaffection to Alex-
ander, but from fear of Musicanus. The capital of
Sabbas could not have been very far from the modem
Schwaun, or Sebaun. It appears that the Brach-
mans had instigated the partial revolt of Sabbas;
Alexander, therefore, attacked and captured a city
belonging to that influential caste, and put to death
the most guilty.

While he was thus occupied, the revolt or rather

rebellion of Musicanus, was announced to him. He

also, was induced by the Brahmins to take this rash

step. Alexander instantly returned, took and garri-

21

322 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

soned most of his towns, and sent Peithon against
Musicanus himself. Peithon captured him and the
leading Brahmins, and brought them to Alexander.
Probablv the insurrection had been characterized bv
atrocious deeds, for Alexander ordered the whole
party to be conducted to the capital, and there
hanged.

He was now approaching the upper end of the
delta of the Indus, where the river divides into two
streams of unequal size, that enter into the sea, more
than 100 miles distant from each other. The in-
closed space was named Pattalene by the Greeks,
from the city of Pattala, situated within the delta,
below the point, of division, probably at no great
distance from the modern ITydrabad; they may be
the same cities, as some Hyder might easily have
imposed his own name on the ancient Pattala. The
governor of Pattalene withdrew into the desert with
most of his people ; but the latter, on being pursued
and informed that no injuries were to be inflicted
upon them, returned to their homes. Hephcestion
was ordered to build a citadel, and construct docks
and a harbor at Pattala, while Alexander himself
sailed down the right branch into the ocean.

" That Alexander (writes Dr. Vincent) had con-'
ceived a plan of the commerce which was afterwards
carried on from Alexandria in Egypt to the Indian
ocean, I think capable of demonstration by his con-
duct after his arrival at Pattala. In his passage
down the Indus, he had evidently marked that river
as the eastern frontier of his empire; he had built

JEtat. 31.] COMMERCIAL VIEWS. 323

three cities and fortified two others on this line, and
he was now preparing for the establishment of Pat-
tala at the point of division of the river, and planning
other posts at its eastern and western mouths."

He had selected the best sailing and largest ves-
sels for his voyage into the ocean, but his progress
immediately after leaving Pattala was at first slow,
from want of pilots; this difficulty was increased by
the regular monsoon, which blew up the river with
great violence. Alexander's light craft were seri-
ously injured by the rough contest between the winds
and the currents, and some even of the triaconters
Went to pieces. The damage was repaired, and the
land force that was accompanying the motions of the
fleet, was ordered to bring in prisoners, from whom
persons capable of steering the vessels were selected.
On reaching the estuary, which was more than twelve
miles broad, they encountered a brisk gale, which
compelled them to seek protection in a small creek;
here they moored for the night. Next day they were
astonished to find that the waters had retired, and
that the vessels were aground. This astonishment
was redoubled, when they witnessed the furious re-
turn of the waters at the regular hour. The tides
in the great Indian rivers, called bores, are of the
most formidable description ; they instantaneously
raise the level of the rivers, from six to twelve feet,
and rush up the stream with inconceivable force and
velocity. For this phenomenon, the sailors of the
Mediterranean, and especially of the iEgean, where

324: ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

the tides are scarcely perceptible, were by no means
prepared.

From this place, two light boats were sent to exam-
ine the passages, and returned with the information,
that they had discovered an island well furnished
with harbors, and otherwise adapted for the objects
in view. The small fleet re-commenced its voyage,
and reached the island in safety. The natives called
it Killuta. Alexander landed, and offered a sacri-
fice to those gods, whom, according to his own declara-
tion, the oracle of Amnion had indicated. This
fact is worthy of being recorded, as proving that as
early as his Egyptian voyage, he had contemplated
his visit to the shores of the eastern ocean, and his
wish to open a communication between it, and his
western dominions. About twelve miles lower down,
he found a smaller island whence an unimpeded view
of the ocean was commanded. He landed here also,
and sacrificed to the same gods. ISText day he en-
tered the ocean, and spread his sails on waves before
unvisited, or, if visited, undescribed by Europeans.
The bull, the favorite victim at the altar of Xeptune,
was sacrificed, and precipitated into the sea: and not
only libations were duly poured into the " wineless
waves " but the golden bowls and patera? were like-
wise consigned to the bosom of the deep. These
were thanksgiving offerings for past success. The
future was not overlooked, for the King bound him-
self by fresh vows, for the return of his fleet in
safety, from the estuary of the Indus, to the mouths
of the Tigris and Euphrates,

JEtat. 81.] VISIT TO THE OCEAN. 325

Then he returned to Pattala, where the citadel was
already completed. Hephsestion was ordered to pro-
ceed with the formation of the docks and harbors,
while he himself sailed down the left branch. This
brought him to a spacious lake, on one side of which,
finding a place well adapted for a naval station, he
ordered another harbor to be formed. Native pilots
guided the fleet through the lake, and eventually into
the ocean ; — but the king was satisfied that the west-
ern branch was better calculated for navigation than
the eastern. He marched for three days along the
shore of the ocean between the two great mouths, and
sunk wells at regular intervals, for the purpose of
furnishing his future navy with fresh water. He
then returned to the ships and sailed back once more
to Pattala.

The King now began to prepare in earnest for the
homeward march ; Craterus already with the ele-
phants, the heavy baggage, the feeble, the old, and
the wounded, and with three brigades of the phalanx,
had marched to the right from the dominions of Mu-
sicanus, in order to conduct his division by easy roads
and through the fertile territories of the Drangae and
Arachosians, to the capital of Carmania. A con-
siderable portion of the fleet was ordered to remain
at Pattala, for the purpose of commanding the navi-
gation of the Indus, and the communication between
the different settlements. Xearchus with the largest
and the most seaworthy ships, was ordered to wait
for the commencement of the trade wind from the

326 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

north-east, which usually sets in about the beginning
of November.

Alexander himself left Pattala in the beginning of
September, B. C. 325, and began his march to the
westward. Hephsestion conducted one detachment
along a more inland route, while the King at the
head of his most active troops turned to the left, and
followed the sea shore. His great object was the
safety of his fleet ; and he had no hopes that in
strange seas and on rocky shores, where the inhabi-
tants were described as barbarous in the extreme, and
water and provisions scarce, Nearchus could ever ac-
complish his purpose without the co-operation of the
land forces. His determination therefore was at all
risks to advance along the sea-coast, and prepare pro-
visions and sink wells for the use of the fleet.

Between the lower course of the Indus and the
Arabis of Arrian the King found, and subdued, a
tribe of savages, called from the river, Arabita?. To
the west of these lived an Indian nation named
Oreitse — who probably occupied the vales of the mod-
ern Pooralee, and its tributaries. They also, after
some brief demonstrations of resistance, submitted.
Alexander ordered a town to be built at a place called
Bambacia,in their territory; appointed Apollophanes
satrap of the Oreita? ; and left Leonnatus, latterly
one of his favorite officers, with a strong force, to
preside over the establishment of the new city, to
accustom the Oreita? to obey their satrap, but above
all to collect provisions, and wait on the coast until

JEtat. 31.] GEDROSIAN DESERT. 327

the fleet under Nearchus had arrived, and past the
shore of that province in safety.

Here the king was joined by Hephsestion ; and the
united force, principally composed of picked men,
ventured into the desert of Gedrosia,* the modern
Makran. During sixty days spent in traversing this
waste from the edge of Oreitia to Pura, they had to
struggle against difficulties greater than were ever
before or after surmounted by a regular army. The
ancients knew nothing of this extensive desert, more
than was communicated by the survivors of this des-
perate experiment. We in modern times know as
little of it beyond its extreme edges, where some
miserable tribes of Balooches contrive to support a
wretched existence. Edrisi, the Nubian geographer,
to whom the sandy wastes of Africa were well known,
gives the following more formidable character of the
desert of Makran : — " To the east of Persia and Car-
mania, lies that immense desert, to which no other
in the world can be compared. There are many

villages and a few cities on its extreme skirts

That great desert is bordered by the provinces of
Kirman, Fars, (Persis,) Moult an, and Segestan.
But few houses are to be seen in it. Men on horse-
back cannot cross it without great difficulty. Un-
loaded camels traverse a few paths, which (with
God's assistance) I proceed to describe." But all
the lines indicated by Edrisi are through the northern

* Gedrosia corresponds very nearly with the modern Balu-
chistan, lying to the north of the Arabian sea, and east of
Persia. The desert of Makran is in the southwestern portion.

32S ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 825.

parts, and throw no light on the route followed by
Alexander. I shall therefore restrict myself to Ar-
rian's narrative, and merely add a few circum-
stances from Strabo.

The commencement of their march in the desert
was over a region covered with myrrh-bearing shrubs,
and the plant whence spikenard was extracted. The
Phoenician merchants who accompanied the army rec-
ognized these aromatics, and loaded beasts of burden
with them. The trampling of the long columns
crushed the fragrant steins, and diffused a grateful
perfume through the still atmosphere. But the
sandv desert is the native soil of aromatics, and the
Macedonians soon found that the balmv gales and
jDrecious odors were no compensation for the want
of the more substantial necessaries of food and water.
They were compelled to make long marches by night,
and at a considerable distance from the sea, although
Alexander was particularly anxious to keep near the
shore ; for the maritime part was one series of naked
rocks. Thoas, the son of ATandrodorus, was sent to
examine if there were harbors, anchoring grounds,
fresh water, and other such facilities for the progr
of the fleet, to be found on the coast ; on his return he
announced that he had discovered onlv a few starv-
ing fishermen, who dwelt in stifling hovels, the walls
of which were formed of shells, and their roofs of
the backs and ribs of large fish, and who produced a
scanty supply of brackish water by scraping holes in
the sandy beach.

Alarmed by this representation, as soon as he had

^Etat. 31.J SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. 329

reached a district in the desert where provisions were
more plentiful, or probably a magazine had been
formed, he loaded some beasts of burden with all that
he could secure, sealed the packages with his own
signet, and sent them to the coast for the use of the
navy ; but the escort lost their way among the barren
sands ; their own allowances failed ; and regardless
of the king's displeasure, the men broke open the
packages and devoured the contents. Nor did this
conduct meet with any animadversion — as it was
proved to have been the result of extreme hunger.
By his own exertions he collected another supply,
which was safely conveyed to the sea side by an officer
named Cretheus. He also proclaimed large rewards
for all such inhabitants of the more inland regions,
as should drive down their flocks and herds, and carry
flour and meal to the naval forces. Hitherto his care
and fears were principally on their account ; but he
was now entering the heart of the desert, where the
safety of his accompanying land force became a
doubtful question.

All the companions of Alexander, who had fol-
lowed him from Macedonia to the Hyphasis, agreed
that the other labors and dangers in their Asiatic ex-
pedition, were not to be compared with the fatigues
and privations of the march through Gedrosia. The
burning heat and the scarcity of water proved fatal
to a great portion of the men, and to almost all the
beasts of burden. For the desert was like an ocean
of moving sand, and assumed all the fantastic shapes
of driven snow. The men sunk deep into these

330 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

banks or wreaths, and the progress of all the wheeled
vehicles was soon stopped. The length of some of
their marches exhausted them to the last degree, for
these were regulated not by the strength of the men,
but by the discovery of water. If after a night's
march they reached wells or rivulets in the morn-
ing, there was not much suffering. But if the
march was prolonged till the sun was high in the
heavens, and darted his noontide rays upon their
heads, their thirst became intolerable and even un-
quenchable.

The destruction of the beasts of burden was prin-
cipally the work of the men, who in their hunger
killed and devoured not only the oxen but horses and
mules. For this purpose they would linger behind,
and allege on coming up, that the animals had per-
ished of thirst or fatigue. In the general relaxa-
tion of discipline, which invariably accompanies sim-
ilar struggles for life, few officers were curious in
marking what was done amiss. Even Alexander
could only preserve the form of authority, by an ap-
parent ignorance of disorders which could not be
remedied, and by conniving at offences which sever-
ity could not have checked.

But the destruction of the beasts of carriage was
the death-warrant of the sick and exhausted, who
were left behind without conductors and without con-
solers. For eagerness to advance became the general
characteristic, and the miseries of others were over-
looked by men who anticipated their own doom. At
such moments the mind would naturally recur to the

JEt&t. 31.] SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. 331

old traditions — that of the innumerable host led by
Semiramis to India, only twenty survived the return
through this desert ; and that the great Cyrus was still
more unfortunate, arriving in Persis with only seven
followers — while the bones of the rest of his soldiers
were left to bleach in the deserts of Gedrosia —
amidst such appalling recollections the strong man
could not sympathize deeply with his feebler com-
rade, but husbanded his own strength for the event-
ual struggle.

As most of the marches were performed by night,
many were overpowered by sleep and sunk on the
road side. Few of these ever rejoined the army;
they rose and attempted to pursue the track, but a
consciousness of their desolation and the want of
food, for famine in all its horrors was in the rear of
such an army, soon paralyzed all exertion, and after
floundering for a short period among the hillocks of
yielding sand, they would lay themselves down and
die.

Another and most dissimilar misfortune overtook
them. They had encamped one evening in the bed
of a torrent, from the cavities in which they had
scantily supplied themselves with water, when late
at night, in consequence of a fall of rain among the
mountains, the waters suddenly descended with the
force and depth of an impetuous river, and swept
everything before them. Many helpless women and
children, whom the love and natural affection of their
protectors had hitherto preserved, perished in the
flood; which also carried away the royal equipage,

332 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

and most of the remaining beasts of burden. A
similar misfortune had indeed befallen them in In-
dia ; but they had then encamped too near the brink
of the magnificent Acesines ; and were not prepared
to fear a like disaster from the sudden swell of a
paltry torrent in Gedrosia.

Many perished from drinking immoderate
draughts of water. For as soon as it became known
that the head of the column had arrived at wells,
streams, or tanks, the soldiers, eager to allay their
burning thirst, broke their ranks, rushed to the spot,
and drank at their own discretion ; the most impa-
tient even plunged into the water, as if anxious to
imbibe the cooling moisture at every pore. This in-
temperance proved equally fatal to man and beast.
Alexander, therefore, taught by experience, made the
troops halt at the distance of a mile, or a mile and a
half, from the watering places, and employed steady
men in conveying and distributing the water among
the soldiers.

One day, the army was thus toiling along through
the yielding sand, parched by thirst, and under the
scorching rays of a midday sun. The march had
continued longer than usual, and the water was still
far in front, when a few of the light troops, who had
wandered from the main body, found at the bottom
of a ravine a scanty portion of brackish water. Had
it been thickened with the golden sands of the Pacto-
lus, it conld not have been more highly estimated,
nor collected with more scrupulous care. A helmet
served for a cup, and with the precious nectar treas-

Etat. 31.] SELF-DENIAL OF THE KING. 333

ired in this, they hurried to the King. The great
)fficers had long ceased to use their horses ; every gen-

ral, for the sake of example, shared the marching
a-foot at the head of his own brigade. Alexander
bimself, who never imposed a duty on others, from
which he shrunk in person, was now on foot, leading
forwards the phalanx with labor and difficulty, and
oppressed with thirst. He took the helmet from the
hands of the light trooper, thanked him and his com-
rades for their kind exertions, and then deliberately,
in sight of all, poured the water into the thankless
sands of the desert. The action, as Arrian justly
observes, marks not only the great man, able to con-
trol the cravings of nature, but the great general.
For every soldier who witnessed the libation, and
the self-denial of his King, received as strong a stim-
ulus to his fainting faculties, as if he had partaken
of the refreshing draught.

At one period, the guides confessed that they knew
not where they were, nor in what direction they were
moving. A gale of wind had swept the surface of
the desert, and obliterated everv trace in the sands ;
there were no landmarks by which they could ascer-
tain their position, no trees varied the eternal same-
ness of the scene, while the sandy knolls shifted their
ground, and changed their figures with every fresh
storm. The inhabitants of these deserts had not,
like the Libyans and Arabs, learned to shape their
course by the sun and. stars ; — the army therefore was
in the greatest danger of perishing in the pathless
wild.

334 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. CfJ5.

Alexander, thus thrown upon his own resources,
took with him a few horsemen, and turning to the
left, hastened by what he deemed the shortest cut to
the sea shore. His escort dropped off by degrees,
and five alone remained when he was fortunate
enough to reach the coast. On digging into the
sandy beach, these had the inexpressible pleasure of
seeing pure and sweet water oozing into the cavities.
Notice of the discovery was instantly communicated
to the main body, and all were brought down to the
shore. Along this they marched for seven days, and
were supplied with water from these temporary wells.
Then the guides recognized their way, and all again
directing their course inland, arrived at Pura, the
capital of Gedrosia, where, after a desert march of
sixty days' continuance, their severe sufferings termi-
nated.

Such is Arrian's account. Strabo adds : " Many
sunk down on the road side, exhausted by fatigue,
heat and thirst. These were seized with tremors,
accompanied by convulsive motions of the hands and
feet, and died like men overpowered by rigors and
shivering fits. . . . There was a tree, not unlike the
laurel, which proved poisonous to the beasts of bur-
den. These, after browzing it, lost the use of their
limbs, foamed at the mouth, and died. There was
also a prickly plant, the fruit of which crept, like a
cucumber, along the ground. This, when trodden
upon, spurted a milky juice, and if any drops of it
struck the eyes of man or boast, instant blindness
followed. There was danger also from venomous

JEtat. 31.] PURA— CARMANIA. 335

serpents, that lurked under some shrubs which grew
on the sea shore. Their bite was instant death. It
is said that the Oreitae anointed their arrow-points,
made of fire-hardened wood, with a deadly poison ;
and that Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was at the point
of death from such a wound, but that Alexander, in
his sleep, saw a person who showed him a root pecu-
liar to that country, and ordered him to crush it and
apply it to the wound ; that on awaking he recollected
his dream, and by searching soon found the root,
which abounded in the neighborhood, and applied it
with success ; and that the barbarians, perceiving that
a remedy had been discovered, made their submis-
sions. ... Most probably" (continues Strabo) "some
person acquainted with the secret gave Alexander the
information, and the fabulous part was the addition
of flatterers." *

Pura, the capital of Gedrosia, is either the mod-
ern Bunpore itself, or must have been situated in its
immediate vicinity. For, with the exception of the
Bunpore river, there is no stream within the pre-
scribed limits capable of fertilizing a district large
enough to support a metropolis, and to recruit the
famished armv of Alexander. Arrian's Pura may
still lurk in the last syllable of Bunpore, especially
as the numerous Pores of India have no connection
with the names of cities in Makran. Ptolemy calls

* Wheeler calls the Makran the hottest and most hopeless
part of the world, and says that after Alexander's experience
no European is known to have penetrated it down to the nine-
teenth century.

33G ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

the capital of Gedrosia Easis, probably a misprint for
Oasis, the general appellation for isolated and fertile
spots surrounded by deserts. The satrap of Ge-
drosia, Apollophanes, had shamefully neglected his
duty, and left undone all that he had been ordered to
do. On him therefore fell the blame of the soldiers'
sufferings, and he was degraded from his office, and
succeeded by Thoas, the son of Mandrodorus. But
he soon died, and Sibyrtius was appointed to the
united satrapies of Arachosia and Gedrosia.

As the King was marching from Pur a to the capi-
tal of Carmania, the modern Kirman, he received in-
telligence that Philip, whom he had left in command
of all the country to the west of the upper Indus, had
been slain, in a mutiny, by the Greek mercenaries
under his command, but that the mutiny had been
quelled, and the assassins put to death, by the Mace-
donian troops. Alexander did not immediately ap-
point a successor, but sent a commission, empowering
Eudemus, a Greek, and the Indian Taxiles, to super-
intend the satrapy for a short time.

At Kirman Alexander was joined by Craterus.
It does not appear that he had had to encounter any
great difficulties. His course must have been up the
Aral and down into the vale of the ITeermund. This
great river would conduct him through the rich terri-
tories of the Euergetse and lower Drangiana, till its
waters terminate in the swampy lake of Zurrah.
Erom the western edge of the lake to Kirman, there
is a regular caravan road, which, with common pre-
cautions, can be traversed by armies. Here also

JEtat. 31.] SAFE ARRIVAL OF THE FLEET. 337

arrived Nearchus, the admiral of the fleet, who had
conducted his charge in safety from the mouth of the
Indus to Harniozia, on the coast of Carmania. The
city and its name were in later ages transferred from
the continent to the island which, under the style of
Ormus, became, for a time, the most celebrated mart
in the Indian seas. But its glory has past away,
and the " throne of Ormus '' is now a barren rock.

Of all the voyages distinctly recorded by the an-
cients, this was the boldest, most adventurous and
successful. Its able conductor was one of the earliest
friends and favorites of Alexander, and was one of
the five exiled from Macedonia for their attachment
to the prince. Xearchus, by birth a Cretan, was, by
admission, a citizen of Amphipolis on the Strymon,
whence he called himself a Macedonian. Many of
the ancients suspected his credibility as an author,
and for this two good reasons might be assigned;
first, he was a Cretan, and that for a popular argu-
ment was sufficient — for, according to the well-known
axiom,

" All Cretans are liars ; "

Secondly, Onesicritus, his master of the fleet, wrote
an account of the same voyage ; nor did he scruple
to introduce into it the most improbable fictions and
romances ; so that Strabo calls him the arch-pilot not
only of the fleet, but of falsehood. The ancients had
no means of deciding between the conflicting testi-
monies of the admiral and the master, and, as a nat-
ural inference, doubted the credibility of both. Ar-
22

338 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 325.

rian alone, with his keen perception of the difference
between truth and falsehood, after attentive exami-
nations, ascertained the value of the narrative, and
pronounced Xearchus to be an " approved writer."

But still, implicit confidence cannot be placed in
the admiral's statements. One feels that he does not
tell " the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Pie
was evidently a vain man; and probably was not,
after Alexander's death, treated by the great Mace-
donian officers with all the deference to which he
thought himself entitled. He therefore dwelt rather
offensively on every proof of Alexander's friendship
and affection for him, as if laboring to show that
the King made no difference between him and Mace-
donians by birth. If we make allowance for this
feeling, and for one or two extraordinary statements,
we may confidently rely upon the general facts of the
narrative.

There arrived also, at Kirman, Stasanor, satrap
of Areia and Zaranga, and the son of the satrap of
Parthia and Hvrcania. These officers had antici-
pated the result of the march through Gedrosia, and
brought with them horses, mules and camels, for the
use of the army. The troops left in Media were also
conducted thither by their generals, Oleander, Sital-
ces and TIeracon. These great officers were pub-
licly accused, both by the natives and their own sol-
diers, of sacrilege, in plundering temples and ran-
sacking the tombs of the dead, and of tyranny, in per-
petrating various acts of extortion and outrage on
the property and persons of the living. "When the

JEtat. 31.] DETERMINATION OF ALEXANDER. 339

charges had been fully substantiated, they were con-
demned and executed, as a warning to all other sa-
traps of the certain fate that awaited such male-
factors under the administration of Alexander. It
was the knowledge of his inflexibility upon this point,
and of his determination to protect the subject from
the extortion and tyranny of the satraps, that pre-
served tranquillity in the numerous provinces of his
extensive empire. With the exception of the Bac-
trian and Sogdian insurrection, caused by the arti-
fices of Spitamenes, there does not appear to have oc-
curred one single rebellion of the people, from the
shores of the Hellespont to the banks of the Indus,
from the borders of Scythia to the deserts of ^Ethio-
pia. Several satraps attempted to wear the cidaris
upright, or, in the language of scripture, to exalt
their horn, but were easily put down, without even
the cost of a battle.

CHAPTEK XV.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE TENTH YEAR IN ASIA^B.C. 324.

From Kirman, Hephsestion conducted the main
body of the army, the baggage, and the elephants to
the sea, as the road to Susiana along the coast was
better supplied with provisions, and the climate
warmer. Alexander himself, with the Companion
cavalry, and a select force of infantry, marched to
Pasargada.

According to Aristobulus, Alexander early ex-
pressed an anxious desire, if ever he subdued Persia,
to examine the tomb of Cyrus the Great. Herodo-
tus and Xenophon had given very contradictory ac-
counts of his death : — the former asserting that he
had been defeated, slain, and decapitated by the
Scythian queen Tomyris ; — while, according to the
latter, he had attained length of days, and been gath-
ered to his fathers in peace. It is impossible to im-
pute this intention of Alexander to any other cause
than the desire to decide between these two conflict-
ing testimonies ; and an examination of the body
would enable him conclusively to determine the ques-
tion.

During his hostile visit to Persia, he had found
means to examine the tomb, and Aristobulus, who re-

340

-ffitat. 32.] TOMB OF CYRUS. 341

corded the particulars, was the officer employed upon
the occasion. It occupied the centre of the royal
park at Pasargada, and was embosomed in a shady
grove. The surrounding lawn was irrigated by va-
rious streamlets from the river Cyrus, and clothed
with deep and luxuriant herbage. The tomb itself
was a square building of hewn stone. The basement,
of solid masonry, supported on one side a range of
steps, that led to a small door in the face of the upper
story. The entrance was so narrow, that it was dif-
ficult for a man, below the usual size, to force his
way in. Aristobulus, however, succeeded in gain-
ing entrance, and carefully examined the whole.
The chamber was roofed with stone. In the centre
stood a couch, or bed, supported on golden feet, and
covered with purple cushions. On the couch was
placed a golden coffin, containing the embalmed body
of Cyrus. Over all was spread a coverlet of the
richest Babylonian tapestry. There were robes and
tunics and drawers of the finest texture, and of every
variety of color. On the table were placed orna-
ments of various kinds, gold cups, scimitars, chains,
bracelets, earrings, set in gold, and gemmed with
precious stones. On the wall was engraved the fol-
lowing inscription in the Persian language : — " O
man, I am Cyrus, son of Cambyses, who acquired the
empire for the Persians, and reigned over Asia. Do
not, therefore, grudge me this tomb.". . . .At the foot
of the range of steps which led to the door in the
chamber, was built a small residence for the Magi,
to whose care the sepulchre was intrusted. A sheep,

342 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

and a corresponding quantity of wine and corn, were
allowed for their daily subsistence, and a horse every
month to be sacrificed to the manes of Cyrus.

But although Aristobulus might have satisfied
Alexander, no information has reached us respecting
the state in which the bodv was found; whether it
corresponded with Xenophon's description, or at-
tested the superior judgment of Herodotus, who,
among various Persian reports, had preferred that
which recorded his defeat by Tomyris, and the sepa-
ration of the head from the body.

Many reasons might be alleged why Alexander
should be loth to confirm the truth of the defeat of the
great conqueror of Asia by the still formidable Scyth-
ians, but not a single one for suppressing its contra-
diction, had the body been found unmutilated.
Moreover, the positive manner in which both Strabo
and Arrian speak of the misfortune of Cyrus, proves,
almost to a demonstration, that Herodotus, as to this
matter, had been the historian, and Xenophon the
novelist.

Alexander, in the language of Greece, was a Philo-
Cvrus,* and admired and venerated the founder of
the Persian monarchy. He was, therefore, deeply
shocked to find on his return to Pasargada, that the
tomb which had been so religiously preserved and
honored for more than two centuries, had, during his
absence in the east, been sacrilegiously profaned and
plundered ; for, on a second visit, nothing was found
but the body, couch and coffin. The lid was stolen,

* The modern word would be Cyrojphile.

-ffitat. 32.] TOMB OF CYRUS. 343

the corpse dragged out and shamefully mangled, and
the coffin itself bore marks of violent attempts to
break it to pieces, and, by crushing together the sides,
to make it portable. It is worthy of remark, that the
body of Alexander himself, a greater conqueror than
Cyrus, was, for the sake of the golden coffin, treated
in a similar manner by Cocces, and Ptolemy, sur-
named the Intruder. The great, if they wish their
ashes to repose undisturbed, should leave their wealth
on this side of the grave ; any superfluous decoration
of the tomb but serves to tempt the hand of the
spoiler.

Alexander, with pious care, commissioned Aristo-
bulus to restore everything to its prior state, and
when that was accomplished, to build up the door
with solid mason work. The Magi, suspected of hav-
ing connived at the sacrilege, or at least criminally
neglected their duty, were put to the torture ; but
they persisted to affirm their innocence and their ig-
norance of the offenders, and were dismissed. As
Strabo properly observes, the failure to carry away
the golden coffin, is a convincing proof that the at-
tempt had been made in haste by some band of prowl-
ing robbers, and not under the sanction of any con-
stituted authorities.

The Pasargadse, according to Herodotus, were the
leading Persian clan or tribe. To it belonged the
royal family of the Achsemenidae, who, since the days
of Cyrus, had possessed the empire of Asia. Pasar-
gada, apparently named from his own tribe, was built
by Cyrus on the spot where he had gained his final

£44 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

victory over the Medes. Men of great learning and
judgment have fallen into error, from confounding
Pasargada with Parsagarda, the oriental name of
Persepolis. The mistake is as old as Stephanus By-
zantius. Were the site of Pasargada discovered, we
might still hope to find the basement of the tomb of
Cyrus.

From Pasargada Alexander went to Persepolis, or
Parsagarda,. where, as Arrian says, he repented of
his deed as he viewed the melancholy ruins of the
royal palace.

Phrasaortes, the satrap of Persis, had died, but
Orxines, a Persian nobleman, had, without waiting
for Alexander's nomination, usurped the office. Xor
had this bold deed, when first communicated to Alex-
ander, excited his displeasure, as it seemed to origi-
nate in conscious worth. But when he had arrived
in Persis, so many acts of violence and oppression
were laid to the self -elected satrap's charge, and sup-
ported by Persian evidence, that the king, who had
not spared his own officers, condemned Orxines to
death.

Peucestas, who alreadv for his faithful services in
the Mallian citadel, had been appointed one of the
commanders of the body guard, was further rewarded
with the satrapy of Persis. Immediately on being
appointed, he adopted the Persian dress, applied him-
self to the study of the language, and in other points
conformed to the Oriental habits. This conduct
proved offensive to many Macedonians, but was ap-

Mtat. 32.] THE GYMNOSOPHISTS. 34o

plauded by Alexander, and rewarded by the warm
attachment of the Persians.

The attention of Alexander during the intervals
of his Indian campaigns, had been considerably at-
tracted to those religions devotees, whom the Greeks
complimented with the name of Gymnosophists, or
naked philosophers. At Taxila he understood that
a college of these devotees resided in a grove near
the suburbs, under the care and instruction of Dar-
danis. Onesicritus, who was himself a disciple of
"the dos;"* was sent to summon Dardanis to the
royal presence. But he refused to obey — and would
not allow any of his hearers to visit the King. He
said that he was as much the son of Jupiter as Alex-
ander, that he wanted nothing which Alexander
could bestow, nor feared anything which he could
inflict; that the fruits of the earth in their due sea-
son sufficed him while living, and that death would
only free his soul from the incumbrance of the body,
at the best but a troublesome companion. Alexander
respected the independent spirit of the savage, and
gave him no further molestation ; but he persuaded
another Gymnosophist, by name Calanus, to abjure
his ascetic habits and follow him. His fellow reli-
gionists loudly accused him of having forsaken the
only road to happiness for the sake of the forbidden
enjoyments of Alexander's table ; but Calanus perse-
vered, and accompanied his patron into Persis. Here
his health began to decline, and he therefore an-
nounced his resolution to burn himself alive before

* That is, of Diogenes the Cynic.

346

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

[B.C. 324.

any greater evils overtook him. Alexander having
in vain attempted to dissuade him, ordered Ptolemy,
the son of Lagus, to prepare a magnificent pile, and
to see that all was conducted with order and pro-
priety. He himself, from feelings which we must
respect, refused to witness the horrid ceremony, al-
though the Macedonians in general crowded to the
sight. Calanus rode to the pile at the head of a long
procession, ascended and took his place calmly, and
while the fire was consuming his flesh, never moved
a limb. The trumpets sounded a charge, the sol-
diers raised the regular war shout, and, according to
some authors, even the elephants raised their trunks,
and loudly trumpeted their approbation of their
heroic countryman.

From Persepolis, Alexander marched into Su-
siana. At the bridge across the Pasitigris or Caroon,
in the vicinitv of the modern Sinister, he had the
pleasure to find Xearchus and the fleet, who had cir-
cumnavigated in safety from Harmozia into the
bosom of the Susian province. The admiral joined
the land armv in its westward march to Susa.

Here also the satrap Abulities had abused his au-
thority, and with his son, Ox'athres, was accused by
the Susians of tyranny and oppression. They were
both found guilty and put to death. Many satraps
had acted thus on the supposition that there would
be no future account, no day of reckoning. Most
men either hoped or feared that Alexander would
never return with life. They took into considera-
tion the sword, the climate, the elephants, the wild

JEtat. 32.J FLIGHT OF HARPALUS. 347

beasts, the rivers, the desert, and the other perils to
which he recklessly exposed himself, and thought
they might calculate, without much risk, on final
impunity. Among the most notorious offenders was
the wretched Harpalus, who had been left to super-
intend the treasury at Ecbatana. On hearing of
the fate of Oleander, Sitalces, and Heracon, the as-
sociates of his crimes, he hastily took 5,000 talents
from the treasury, hired the services of 6,000 mer-
cenaries, and, under their escort, safely arrived with
his stolen wealth at Mount Tsenarus in Laconia.
He attempted to excite the Athenians to take up
arms, but the assembly for the time had the wisdom
to reject his persuasions and his bribes. Thence he
wandered to Crete, where soon after he was put to
death by Thimbron, the chief officer of his own mer-
cenaries.

Alexander was so shocked by this double villainy
of Harpalus, that he could not for some time be
brought to believe it. He even threw into prison the
first person who brought information of his robbery
and flight. His temper was not improved by this
event, and it was observed, that thenceforward, he
was more inclined to listen to accusation, and less
ready to pardon offences. Experience was doing its
natural work, and impressing him with the stern ne-
cessity of preferring justice to mercy, and of not
allowing petty offenders to swell, by long impunity,
to the full proportion of state criminals.

He had no donbt discovered by this time, that the
Medes and Persians, for it is difficult to draw a dis-

348 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

tinction between them, were the finest and most trust-
worthy race in Asia. He had long ceased to regard
them with feelings peculiarly hostile, and now pre-
pared to draw closer the union between them and the
Macedonians. At Susa he collected all the nobles
of the empire, and celebrated the most magnificent
nuptials recorded in history. He married Par-
sine,* or Stateria, the daughter of the late king, and
thus, in the eyes of his Persian subjects, confirmed
his title to the throne. His father, Philip, was a
polygamist in practice, although it would be very
difficult to prove that the Macedonians in general
were allowed a plurality of wives ; but Alexander was
now the King of Kings, and is more likely to have
been guided by Persian than Grecian opinions upon
the subject. Eighty of his principal officers fol-
lowed the example, and were united to the daughters
of the chief nobility of Persia. To Hephsestion was
given the second daughter of Darius — Alexander be-
ing anxious that his own and Hephsestion's children
should be as closely connected by blood as their fath-
ers by friendship. To Craterus, next in favor to
Hepha^stion, superior to all in authority, was given
Amastrine, the daughter of Oxyartes, the brother of
Darius. These three princesses, distinguished as
they were by this selection, were all destined to early
widowhood and a life of sorrow. Amastrine alone
was equal to the struggle. After the death of Cra-

* Barsine was the widow of Memnon, a Rhodian Greek, the
best general of the Persian army, who first met Alexander at
Granicus. See above, page C3.

uEtat. 32.] NUPTIALS OF ALEXANDER. 349

terus she married Dionysius, despot of the Bithynian
Heracleia, and gave her name to the town Amastris
founded by herself on that coast. Her influence was
so great in that country as to induce King Lysi-
machus to become her husband.

To Perdiccas was given the daughter of Atropates,
the satrap of Media : she also was soon a widow, but
her father, after the assassination of his son-in-law,
declared himself independent and founded the last
Median kingdom, called from him Atropatene, by
the Orientals Adherbijan.

To Ptolemy and Eumenes were given Artacana
and Artonis, the daughters of Artabazus. The
brothers-in-law took different sides in the succeeding
dissensions ; — Eumenes fell ; but Ptolemy became the
father of a long line of kings.

To JNTearchus was given a daughter of the Rhodian
Mentor, by Barcine, a Persian lady.

To Seleucus was given Apama, the daughter of
the brave and patriotic Spitamenes. This was the
happiest union : — from it sprung the Seleusidse, who
for three centuries ruled the destinies of Western
Asia ; and the numerous cities honored with the name
of Apameia proved the love of her husband and the
filial affection of her son.

The marriages, in compliment to the brides, were
celebrated after the Persian fashion, and during the
vernal equinox. For at no other period, by the an-
cient laws of Persia, could nuptials be legally cele-
brated. Such an institution is redolent of the poetry
and freshness of the new world, and of an attention

350 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

to the voice of nature, and tlie analogies of physical
life. The young couple would marry in time to sow
their field, to reap the harvest, and gather their
stores, before the season of cold and scarcity over-
took them. It is difficult to say how far this cus-
tom prevailed among primitive nations, but it can
scarcely be doubted that we still retain lingering
traces of it in the harmless amusements of St. Val-
entine's day.

On the wedding-day Alexander feasted the eighty
bridegrooms in a magnificent hall prepared for the
purpose. Eighty separate couches were placed for
the guests, and on each a magnificent wedding-robe
for every individual. At the conclusion of the ban-
quet, and while the wine and the dessert were on the
table, the eighty brides were introduced; Alexander
first rose, received the princess, took her by the hand,
kissed her, and placed her on the couch close to him-
self. The example was followed by all, till every
lady was seated by her betrothed. This formed the
whole of the Persian, ceremony — the salute being re-
garded as the seal of appropriation. The Mace-
donian form was still more simple and symbolical.
The bridegroom, dividing a small loaf with his
sword, presented one half to the bride; wine was
then poured as a libation on both portions, and the
contracting parties tasted of the bread. Cake and
wine, as nuptial refreshments, may thus claim a ven-
erable antiquity. In due time the bridegrooms con-
. ducted their respective brides to chambers prepared
for them within the precincts of the royal palace.

JEtat. 32.] PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. 351

The festivities continued for five days, and all
the amusements of the age were put into requisition
for the entertainment of the company. Athenseus
has quoted from Chares, a list of the chief perform-
ers, which I transcribe more for the sake of the per-
formances and of the states where these lighter arts
were brought to the greatest perfection, than of the
names, which are now unmeaning sounds. Scymnus
from Tarentum, Philistides from Syracuse, and
Heracleitus from Mitylene, were the great jugglers,
or as the Greek word intimates, the wonder-workers
of the day. After them, Alexis, the Tarentine, dis-
played his excellence as a rhapsodist, or repeater, to
appropriate music, of the soul-stirring poetry of
Homer. Cratinus the Methymnsean, Aristonymus
the Athenian, Athenodorus the Teian, played on the
harp — without being accompanied by the voice. On
the contrary, Heracleitus the Tarentine and Aristo-
crates the Theban, accompanied their harps with
lyric songs. The performers on wind instruments
were divided on a similar, although it could not be
on the same principle. Dionysius from Heracleia,
and Hyperbolus from Cyzicum, sang to the flute, or
some such instrument ; while Timotheus, Phryni-
chus, Scaphisius, Diophantus, and Evius, the Chal-
cidian, first performed the Pythian overture, and
then, accompanied by choruses, displayed the full
power of wind instruments in masterly hands.
There was also a peculiar class called eulogists of
Bacchus; these acquitted themselves so well on this
occasion, applying to Alexander those praises which

352 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

in their extemporaneous effusions had hitherto been
confined to the god, that they acquired the name of
Eulogists of Alexander. Xor did their reward fail
them. The stage, of course, was not without its
representatives : — Thessalus, Athenodorus, Aristo-
critus, in tragedy — Lycon, Phormion, and Ariston,
in comedy — exerted their utmost skill, and contended
for the prize of superior excellence. Phasimelus,
the dancer, was also present.

We read in Xenophon that the Persian women
were so well made and beautiful, that their attrac-
tions might easily have seduced the affections of the
Ten Thousand, and have caused them, like the lotus-
eating companions of Ulysses, to forget their native
land. Some little hints as to the mode in which
their beauty was enhanced and their persons deco-
rated, may be expected in the Life of Alexander,
who, victorious over their fathers and brothers, yet
submitted to their charms-. •

The Persian ladies wore the tiara or turban, richlv
adorned' with jewels. They wore their hair long,
and both plaited and curled it ; nor, if the natural
failed, did they scruple to use false locks. They
pencilled the eyebrows, and tinged the eyelid, with a
dye that was supposed to add a peculiar brilliancy to
the eyes. They were fond of perfumes, and their
delightful ottar was the principal favorite. Their
tunic and drawers were of fine linen, the robe or
gown of silk — the train of this was long, and on
state occasions required a supporter. Round the
waist they wore a broad zone or cincture flounced

JEtat. 32.] PERSIAN DRESS. 353

on both edges, and embroidered and jewelled in the
centre. They also wore stockings and gloves, but
history has not recorded their materials. They used
no sandals ; a light and ornamented shoe was worn in
the house ; and for walking they had a kind of coarse
half boot. They used shawls and wrappers for the
person, and veils for the head ; the veil was large and
square, and when thrown over the head descended low
on all sides. They were fond of glowing colors, es-
pecially of purple, scarlet, and light-blue dresses.
Their favorite ornaments were pearls ; they wreathed
these in their hair, wore them as necklaces, ear-drops,
armlets, bracelets, anklets, and worked them into con-
spicuous parts of their dresses. Of the precious
stones they preferred emeralds, rubies, and tur-
quoises, which were set in gold and worn like the
pearls.

Alexander did not limit his liberality to the wed-
ding festivities, but presented every bride with a
handsome marriage portion. He also ordered the
names of all the soldiers who had marrie'd Asiatic
wives to be registered ; their number exceeded 10,-
000 ; and each received a handsome present, under
the name of marriage gift.

The Macedonian army did not differ in principle
from other armies. The conquerors of Asia were
not all rich ; great plunder and sudden gain are in
general lavishly spent. Many were in difficulties,
and deeply indebted to the hoard of usurers, plunder-
merchants, and credit-givers, that in all ages have
been the devouring curse of European as well as of
33

354 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

Asiatic armies. Alexander, aware of this, deter-
mined to signalize the season of rejoicing by a gen-
eral payment of all his soldiers' debts. He there-
fore, by a public order, announced this generous in-
tention, and ordered all bonds, contracts, and other
securities, to be brought by the debtor and creditor
to the officers of the treasury, who were to register the
debtor's names and pay all debts legally due. Few
were bold enough to accept this princely offer, as
most suspected it to be a test to enable the King to
distinguish the frugal and the prudent from the ex-
travagant and dissolute. Alexander was displeased
with this distrust, as, according to him, " kings
should not dissemble with their subjects, nor sub-
jects with their kings." He then ordered tables cov-
ered with gold to be placed in various parts of the
camp, and nothing more was required than for the
debtor and creditor to present themselves, receive the
money, and cancel the securities before the officers.
Twenty thousand talents were thus disbursed ; and
the soldiers felt more grateful for the delicacy of the
manner than the substantial nature of the relief.
Political economists will exclaim against the meas-
ure, — moralists will blame it as a direct premium
for the production of false documents ; — it is useless
to argue the question, for there is no apparent dan-
ger that the example will ever be imitated.

Separate rewards were assigned to every man who
had distinguished himself, either by superior conduct
or brilliant actions, during the late campaign. Peu-
cestas and Leonnatus received crowns of gold for

JEtat. 32.] GIFTS TO THE ARMY. 355

their good service in the Mallian citadel; — the lat-
ter had also enhanced his claim by gaining a decisive
victory over the Oreitse. Nearchus and Onesicritns
were honored in the same manner, for the skill and
success with which they had conducted the fleet from
the Indus to the Persian Gulf.

The 30,000 boys who had been selected in the
upper provinces were now full grown, and were con-
ducted by their respective officers to Susa, to be re-
viewed by the King. They had been fully instructed
in the Greek language and the Macedonian discipline,
and received from Alexander the honorable name of
Epigoni. Such was the appellation given to Dio-
med and his six companions, who had taken Thebes,
besieged in vain by their fathers. By giving this
name to the young warriors, Alexander clearly inti-
mated his intention to achieve by their aid the con-
quests which the Macedonian veterans had left un-
finished. The name was preserved, and, in the his-
tory of the Asiatic Greeks, belongs to the successors
of those great generals who, after Alexander's death,
became the founders of so many new dynasties. The
first race of warrior kings were called the Diadochi.

The sight of the 30,000 Epigoni, in the spring of
life, armed and disciplined after the Macedonian
fashion, gave deep offence to the veterans. The
Median dress of Alexander, the intermarriages, and
their celebration according to oriental forms, the
Persian robes and language of Peucestas, and the
King's approbation of his conduct, served to feed
discontent; — but all these were trifles when com-

356 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

pared with the steps taken to enable the King to dis-
pense with the services of the Macedonians. For
the innovations were not confined to infantry ; the
Companion cavalry had been largely recruited from
the bravest and most skilful horsemen of Bactria,
Sogdiana, Arachosia, Zarangia, Areia, Parthia, and
Persis. Even a fifth brigade was raised, princi-
pally consisting of barbarians. It was commanded
by Hydaspes, a Bactrian ; under him served the sons
of the highest nobility of the empire, and among
them Itanes, the brother of the Queen Boxana. The
Macedonian lance replaced the more inefficient jave-
lin, and a heavy sword the light and curved scyme-
tar. The purpose of these measures was obvious ;
the Macedonians saw with indignation that their
King was determined to be emancipated from mili-
tary thraldom, and to place himself beyond the con-
trol of their wayward disposition. They had
mutinied on the banks of the Hyphasis, because they
were wearied with wars, marches, and conquests, and
now they were ready to mutiny on the banks of the
Choaspes, because their indulgent king had complied
with all their wishes.

As a body they were unable to conceive any sys-
tem of rational conquest, and, far from sympathiz-
ing with the forecast of their own enlightened prince,
wished rather to imitate the career of the Scvthians,
who, nearly 300 years before, had subdued all West-
ern Asia, and pitched their camp in its fairest prov-
inces. For eight-and-twenty years their sole occupa-
tion was to destroy, to ravish, to plunder, to revel ; —

JEtat. 32.] VOYAGE TO THE PERSIAN GULF. 357

then arrived the period of reaction, and of -unsparing
retribution : the chiefs were massacred at a drunken
feast, and all the men were cut to pieces. — These,
nevertheless, were the victors whose example had
most charms for the private Macedonians.

Alexander next undertook to explore the rivers of
Susiana, and to view the sea-coast at the upper end
of the Persian Gulf. He therefore, with his guards
and a small detachment of the Companion cavalry,
marched to the Karoon or Pasi-Tigris and embarked
on board the fleet. Hephsestion conducted the rest
of the army by land.

The fleet fell down the Pasi-Tigris,* a magnificent
stream, not inferior after its junction with the Co-
prates, the modern Ab-Zal, to the Tigris or Eu-
phrates. When Alexander sailed on its bosom the
country on both sides was highly cultivated, and
abounded with an active population. The climate
of Susiana is hotter than in the neighboring prov-
inces— its southern aspect, and hollow site below
Blount Lagnos, adding power to the sun and sultri-
ness to the air. Its fertility, under a judicious sys-
tem of irrigation, is equalled by Babylonia alone.
In ancient times the return of wheat and barley
crops was a hundred and sometimes two hundred
fold. In our days a few straggling Arabs pasture

* Strabo informs us that the name Pasi-Tigris, which ac-
cording to oriental etymologists signifies the eastern Tigris,
was applied by some Greeks to the Shat-uJ-Arab, on the
s-ipposition that it was a Greek name, and signified the united
waters of all the rivers connected with the Tigris.

358 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

their flocks on the hanks of the great streams, and
loosely traverse what they do not occupy.

Alexander with the hest sailing vessels entered the
Persian gulf by the main channel of the Karoon, and
then coasted to the right until he arrived at the mouth
of the great estuary, now called the Shat-ul-Arab,
into which the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris,
the Gyndes, and the Choaspes are discharged. The
heavier and more disabled vessels did not venture
into the gulf, but passed from the Karoon into the
Shat-ul-Arab, along a canal now called the Hafar.
The whole fleet joined at the western mouth of the
Hafar Cut, and sailed up the estuary to the place
where Hephsestion and the rest of the army were en-
camped. From the camp the fleet sailed upwards,
and entered the separate channel of the Tigris.
Here it had to encounter the numerous bunds, dykes,
or cataracts, with which the Assyrian kings had
curbed and intersected the stream.

Ancient Assyria was not like Egypt benefited by
river inundation. For the earthy particles, borne
down by the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates, are
deeply impregnated with the salts of the desert, and,
instead of nourishing plants, prove destructive to
vegetation. The same waters when low, and after
the noxious particles have subsided, possess the most
fertilizing qualities, and, wheresoever they are care-
fully admitted and gradually diffused, will change
the barren desert into a smiling garden.

The Assyrian kings, anxious to guard against the
evil and to secure the good, had constructed immense

^Etat. 32.] SKILL OF THE ASSYRIANS. 359

works for two contrary purposes. The first were
mounds, of great height and solidity, raised to confine
the rivers within their banks, and prevent the noxious
floods from spreading over the plains. Many of
these were carried across the isthmus between the
two rivers — so that, if the floods burst the embank-
ments on any one point, the evil might be partial.
The second were the dykes or bunds by which, in the
season of low water, the level of the river was raised
so as to enter the numerous canals, and diffuse the
fertilizing streams over the greatest possible surface
of ground. These were sometimes formed of stone,
and many still remain — lasting monuments of the
skill and industry of the ancient Assyrians. The
rivers were divided by these works into a succession
of steps, each terminated by a fall, greater or less,
according to the elevation of the bund. The Greeks
therefore called them cataracts or waterfalls.

The Macedonians imagined that, as the Persians
were not a naval power, these obstructions were in-
tended to impede the entrance of hostile fleets into
the bosom of the country. Alexander could hardly
have been ignorant of their real use, but his views
were not confined to agriculture. An enlarged com-
merce, and the creation of a powerful fleet on these
streams, were among his favorite objects. He there-
fore destroved all the bunds between the mouth of the
Tigris and the city Opis, and reduced the river to
its natural level. On the supposition that they were
defences he is said to have declared, " that such de-
vices were not for conquerors."

360 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

The city Opis was not far from the mouth of the
river Gyndes ; at this period it was a city of some im-
portance, but the foundation of Seleuceia higher up
the river proved its ruin. Alexander either landed
here and marched with all the army along the royal
road to Susa, or, as stated by Pliny, sailed from the
estuary into the Eukeus or Choaspes, the modern
Kerah, and ascended by that stream to Susa.

There he summoned the Macedonians to a general
assembly, and announced his intention to grant a dis-
charge to all who were invalid from age, wounds,
or disease, and to have them conducted in safety to
their several homes. He promised " to render the
condition of those who were to remain still more en-
viable, and thus to excite other Macedonians to share
their labors and dangers."

Alexander had a right to expect that this announce-
ment would be hailed with gratitude and applause.
It comprehended every request made by Coenus in
behalf of the veterans, nor could they for a moment
doubt the liberality of the provision intended for
them on their retirement. But the Macedonians h^d
long been ripe for mutiny. The barbarians among
the Companion cavalry, the formidable array of the
Epigoni, their Macedonian arms and discipline, were
grievances that could be no longer borne, especially
as they proved their king's intention to act and speak
in future without consulting the pleasure of the
military assembly.

The whole body, therefore, broke out into loud and
mutinous cries, called upon him to discharge them

^Etat. 32.] MACEDONIAN MUTINY. 361

all, and to " take his new father Ammon for his as-
sociate in future campaigns. " But Alexander was
too well prepared to be intimidated by this violent
explosion; he rushed from the tribunal, and being
supported by his great officers, entered the crowd,
and ordered the guards to seize the ringleaders. He
pointed out the most guilty with his own hand, and
when thirteen had been thus apprehended, he ordered
them all to be led to instant execution. When bv this
act of vigor he had terrified the assembly into a state
of sullen silence, he reascended the tribunal and thus
spoke —

" I have no intention, Macedonians, to dissuade
you from returning home ; you have my full leave
to go your own way ; but I wish to remind you of the
change in your circumstances, of your obligations to
my family, and of the manner in which you now
propose to repay them. I begin, as in duty bound,
with my father Philip. At his accession you were
poverty-stricken wanderers, mostly clad in skins,
herding your scanty flocks on the bare hills, and fight-
ing rudely in their defence against the Illyrians,
Triballi, and Thracians. Under him you exchanged
your garbs of skin for cloaks of cloth. He led you
from the hills to the plains, taught you to withstand
the barbarians on equal ground, and to rely for
safety on personal valor, not on mountain fastnesses.
He assembled you in cities, and civilized you by use-
ful laws and institutions. He raised you from a
state of slavery and dependence, to be the masters of
the barbarians, by whom you had so long been de-

362 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

spoiled and plundered. He added Thrace to your
empire, occupied the most advantageous situations
on the sea-shore, — thus securing the blessings of com-
merce and enabling you to convert the produce of the
mines to the best advantage. Under him you be-
came the leaders of the Thessalians, of whom pre-
viously you entertained a deadly terror. By the
humiliation of the Phocians, he opened a broad and
easy entrance into Greece, which before could be en-
tered only by one narrow and difficult pass. By the
victory at Chaeroneia, where, young as I was, I
shared in the danger, he humbled the Athenians and
Thebans, the eternal plotters against the peace of
Macedonia, and converted you from being the tribu-
taries of Athens and the vassals of Thebes, to be the
lord-protectors of both states. He then entered the
Peloponnesus, arranged its affairs, and was declared
captain-general of all Greece against Persia. This
appointment was no less honorable to himself in par-
ticular, than to the Macedonians in general. These
are my father's works, — great, if estimated intrin-
sically,— trifling, if compared with the benefits con-
ferred by me.

" At my accession I inherited a few gold and
silver cups, and sixty talents in the treasury, while
mv father's debts exceeded five hundred. I made
myself answerable for these, and borrowed eight hun-
dred more in my own name ; then leaving Macedonia,
which furnished you with only a scant subsistence, I
immediately opened the passage of the Hellespont,
although the Persians were then masters of the sea.

^tat. 32.] SPEECH OF ALEXANDER. 363

With my cavalry alone I conquered the satraps of
Darius, and added to your empire Ionia, iEolia, the
Phrygias and Lydia. I besieged and took Miletus,
and as the other provinces gave in their submission,
appointed you to draw the revenues. You derive the
advantages accruing from iEgypt and Cyrene, ac-
quired by me without a blow. You possess Coelo-
Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Bactria,
and Susa. To you belong the wealth of Lydia, the
treasures of Persia, the luxuries of India and of the
eastern ocean. You are satraps, generals, and col-
onels. What do I retain from the fruits of all my
labors but this purple robe and diadem ? Individ-
ually I have nothing. Nobody can show treasures
of mine which are not yours, or preserved for your
use, for I have no temptation to reserve anything
for myself. Your meals differ not from mine, nor
do I indulge in longer slumbers ; the luxurious among
you fare, perhaps, more delicately than their king,
and I know that he often watches that you may sleep
in safety.

" Nor can it be objected that you have acquired
all by your toils and dangers, while I, the leader,
have encountered neither risks nor labors. Is there
a man among you who is conscious of having toiled
more for me than I for him ? Nay more, let him
among you who has wounds to show, strip and dis-
play the scars, and I will show mine, for no part of
my person in front has escaped unwounded, nor
is there a hand-weapon or missile of which I bear
not the mark on my body. I have been struck hand

364 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

to hand with the sword, by javelins, arrows and darts
discharged from engines. It is under showers of
stones and steel-shod missiles that I have led you to
victory, glory and wealth, by sea and land, over
mountains, rivers, and desert places.

" I have married from the same class as yourselves,
and my children and the children of many among
you will be blood-relations. Without inquiring into
the manner in which they were contracted, I have
paid all your debts, although your pay is great, and
the booty from captured cities has been immense.
Most of you possess crowns of gold, lasting monu-
ments of your own valor and my approbation. Those
who have fallen have finished their course with glory,
(for under my auspices no Macedonian ever perished
in flight,) and have been honored with splendid fu-
nerals ; statues of bronze preserve the memory of
most of them in their native country; their parents
receive particular honors, and are free from all pub-
lic duties and imposts.

" It was my intention to have sent home all the
invalids, and to have made their condition enviable
among their fellow citizens ; but since it is your wish
to depart altogether, depart all of you, and on your
return home, announce, that after Alexander, your
king, had conquered the Medes, Bactrians, and Saca? ;
had subdued the Uxians, Arachosians, and Dran-
gians ; had added to the empire Parthia, Chorasmia,
and Ilvrcania, and the shores of the Caspian sea ;
had led you over Mount Caucasus and through the
Caspian gates, beyond the Oxus and Tanais, and the

JEtat. 32.] PERSIAN PHALANX. 365

Indus, previously crossed by Dionysus alone, and the
Hydaspes, the Acesines, and the Hydraotes ; and had
your hearts not failed, would have led you beyond
the Hyphasis also ; after he had entered the ocean by
both mouths of the Indus, had passed through the
Gedrosian desert, never before traversed by an army,
and had conquered Carmania and Oreitia during the
march — when his fleet had circumnavigated from
India into the Persian Gulf — and all had arrived at
Susa — you there deserted him and turned him over
to the care of the conquered barbarians. These facts,
faithfully reported, cannot fail to gain you the ap-
plause of men and the favor of the gods. Depart."
With these words he descended hastily from the
tribunal and entered the palace. There he remained
secluded from public view for two days, but as the
Macedonians showed no signs of submission he took
more decisive measures. Had he yielded on the
present occasion, his real authority must have ceased,
and a mutiny would have become the natural resource
whenever the army judged itself aggrieved. On the
third day, therefore, he summoned the Persian no-
bility to the palace; with their assistance he formed
a barbarian force, modelled on the same principle
and armed in the same manner as the Macedonian
army. The Epigoni furnished abundant materials,
and the whole soon assumed the names and divisions
of its prototype. The barbarian phalanx had its
select brigade called Agema. A division of the bar-
barian companion cavalry received the same distin-
guished name, Persian guards were also embodied

366 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

to represent the favored Hypaspists or Argyraspides,
(silver shields,) who had been Alexander's constant
attendants on all dangerous services. These arrange-
ments were galling enough, but the revival of the
Persian body-guard called the Royal Kinsmen, who
alone had the privilege of saluting the king of kings,
alarmed the Macedonians beyond measure, and
proved that nothing but instant submission could
save them from being all discharged and dispersed.

For two days they had remained under arms on the
ground where the assembly had been held; — expect-
ing probably that the third day would, as before,
produce a change in their favor. But when the
result proved so contrary to their hopes, they hurried
in a body to the gates of the palace, and piled their
arms to show the nature of their application. They
here loudly implored the king to come forth ; declar-
ing their willingness to give up the surviving ring-
leaders, and their determination not to quit the spot
by night or day before they received pardon and
mercy.

When this change was reported to Alexander, he
hastened forth; nor, on witnessing their humble be-
havior and expressions of sorrow, could he refrain
from tears. He remained thus for some time — wish-
ing to speak, but unable to express his feelings, while
they still persevered in their supplications.

At last Callines, a commander of the Companion
cavalry, whose age and rank gave him superior privi-
leges, spoke in behalf of all. " The Macedonians
are principally grieved because you have made Per-

Mt&t. 32.] SUPPRESSION OF THE MUTINY. 367

sians your relations, and Persians are called the kins-
men of Alexander, and thus allowed to kiss you,
while no Macedonian enjoys that privilege." The
king immediately answered, " But you are all my
kinsmen, and shall henceforwards bear that name
and enjoy the distinction annexed to it." Upon this
Callines approached and kissed him, and his example
was followed by others. Thus the reconciliation
was sealed, and the soldiers resumed their arms, and
returned to the camp with loud paeans and acclama-
tions.

Thus terminated a mutiny that broke out without
any specific cause, and was quelled without conces-
sions. The king's victory was complete, and the es-
tablishment of a Persian force under separate officers
enabled him to hold the balance between his old and
new subjects. In order to celebrate the happy recon-
ciliation, a public banquet was provided, to which all
of rank and distinction — Greeks and Asiatics — were
invited. The guests were nine thousand in number.
The Grecian priests and the oriental Magi prefaced
the libation with the usual prayers, and implored the
gods to confirm and perpetuate the concord and union
of the Macedonians and Persians. At the close of
this prayer every individual poured the libation, and
the prean or thanksgiving hymn was chanted by nine
thousand voices. As some readers may find it diffi-
cult to conceive how nine thousand guests could be
accommodated at the same banquet, I add for the
sake of illustration a description of a similar feast
from Diodorus Siculus,

368 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

" When the troops arrived at Persepolis, Peuces-
tas, the satrap, offered magnificent sacrifices to the
gods and to Philip and Alexander. Victims and all
other requisites for a banquet had been collected
from all parts of Persis, and at the conclusion of the
sacrifices the whole army sat down to the feast. The
troops were formed into four concentric circles. The
circumference of* the outermost circle was ten stadia.
This was composed of the allies and mercenaries.
The circumference of the second circle was eight
stadia ; it was composed of the x\rgyraspides and the
other troops, who had served under Alexander. The
third circle was four stadia in circumference, and in-
cluded the cavalry, the officers of inferior rank, and
the friends of the generals, both civil and military.
The centre was two stadia in circumference, and the
space within was occupied by the tents of the gen-
erals, of the chief officers of the cavalry, and of the
noblest Persians. In the very middle were the altars
of the gods and of Alexander and Philip. The tents
were shaded with green boughs, and furnished with
carpets and tapestry hangings — as Persis furnishes
in abundance all materials for luxury and eniovment.
The circles were formed so judiciously, that al-
though there was no thronging nor crowding on each
other, the banquet was within the reach of all."

Peucestas had arranged his guests after the model
furnished by Alexander. Por at the reconciliation
dinner (if I may venture upon the word), immedi-
ately round the king the Macedonians were seated —
next to them the Persians — and beyond the Persians

iEtat. 32.] DISCHARGE OF THE VETERANS. 369

the individuals of other nations, according to their
rank and dignity. Nor, perhaps, would we be wrong
in supposing the whole order to have been Persian
and not Grecian. For the great king used to give
public banquets at periodical seasons, not only to his
courtiers and guards, but to the deputies from his
numerous satrapies. On such occasions, we learn
from the Book of Esther, the king occupied the chief
place of honor, while immediately in front of him
were the representatives of the seven great families
of Persia, with the other guests behind them, accord-
ing to their rank. We are informed by Herodotus
that the Persians regarded themselves as the centre
of the created world, and the noblest tribe on the face
of it ; and that other nations partook of honor and no-
bility in proportion to their propinquity to the in-
fluence-spreading centre. Had therefore the orig-
inal etiquette of the Persian court been enforced, the
Macedonians must have been placed in the rear of
their own Thracian dependants.

A scrutiny now took place, and a selection was
made of all the Macedonians whom age, wounds, or
other accident had incapacitated for active service.
Their number exceeded ten thousand. Alexander
allowed them full pay until they reached their several
homes, and presented every invalid with a talent
more than was due to him. As many had children
by Asiatic women, he took the maintenance and edu-
cation of all these upon himself, that they might not
give rise to jealousies and domestic disturbances be-
tween their fathers and their connections in Mace-
24

370 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324;

donia. He promised to educate them like Macedo-
nian soldiers, and in due time to conduct them home
and present them to their veteran fathers.

But what the invalids regarded as the highest com-
pliment, was the appointment of Craterus to take
the charge of them. The health of this amiable man
and great officer, had declined of late, and a return
to his native air was judged advisable for its re-es-
tablishment. He was to conduct the veterans home,
and to succeed Antipater in the regency of Macedo-
nia, and the management of Greece. Antipater had
discharged his duties with great judgment, prudence,
and success: nor does Alexander's confidence in him
appear ever to have been shaken. But the continued
complaints of Olympias, a restless and, as she after-
wards proved herself, a blood-thirsty woman, had of
late grown more violent ; and Antipater also had been
compelled to represent in more severe terms, the tur-
bulence and ferocity of her conduct. Olympias re-
ceived from her son everything that he could give,
but political power ; while nothing but the possession
of this, could satisfy her imperious temper. She was
loud in her accusations of Antipater, who, accord-
ing to her, had forgotten the hand that raised him,
and exercised his authority as if inherent in him-
self.

Alexander, therefore, anxious to prevent any act of
violence,' in which the increasing animosities of the
two parties appeared every instant liable to explode,
sent Craterus, whom in Arrian's words, he loved as
his life, to act on this delicate occasion ; and ordered

JEtat. 32.] DEPARTURE OF THE VETERANS. 371

Antipater to lead a new levy of Macedonians into
Asia.

The parting between the veterans and Alexander
was most touching. Every soldier was permitted
to take personal leave. All were in tears, nor was
the king an exception; it was not possible for him
whose heart was so warm, and his affections so strong,
to take leave without deep emotions, of the rugged
veterans whose foster-child he had been in earlier
years, and with whom in youth and manhood he had
fought, bled, and achieved victories of unparalleled
importance. The late quarrel and reconciliation
were calculated to increase the feelings of mutual
good-will ; for a commander is never so kind as when
his authority is established beyond dispute ; — nor the
attachment of soldiers so strong, as when tempered
with the conviction that they cannot offend with im-
punity.

Autumn was now approaching, and Alexander
marched from Susa to Ecbatana. His hurried ad-
vance through Media, had not allowed him time to
examine that rich province, and its splendid capital.
He therefore devoted the short season of repose, to
the inspection and improvement of his chief cities.
From Susa, he marched to the Pasi-Tigris, and en-
camped in the villages of Carse, probably the site of
the modern Shuster. Thence he advanced to Sitta
or Sambana, where he rested seven days ; at the next
stage he found the Celonse, a Boeotian tribe, carried
into captivity by Xerxes, and placed among these
mountains. They still retained traces of Grecian

372 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

manners, and language, but were rapidly barbariz-
ing. Their situation was about midway between
Shuster and Ispahan. Near them was Bagistane, a
delightful spot, abounding with streams, rocks,
springs, groves, and all that can render oriental scen-
ery picturesque and pleasing. A park and palace
ascribed to Semiramis, furnished accommodations
for the court, and Alexander lingered for thirty days
amidst beauties of nature, better adapted, according
to Diodorus, for the enjoyment of gods, than of mor-
tals.

During this stay, he interfered between his two
friends, Heplnestion and Eumenes, who had long
been at variance with each other. The cause did
not originate with the secretary, nor had he any wish
to entertain a feud with the favorite of his sov-
ereign. But the commander of the Companion cav-
alry scorned the advances of the Cardian, the former
amanuensis of Philip, and threatened him with fu-
ture vengeance. Unfortunately we have only the
termination of the quarrel, as reported by Arrian,who
writes " Hephsestion dreading this speech was recon-
ciled reluctantly to Eumenes.?; The substance of the
king's speech as given by Plutarch, was a remon-
strance with Hephsestion, who, without the king's
favor, would be a person of no weight ; while Eu-
menes, on the contrary, was a man whose talents
would render him conspicuous and formidable in any
situation.

Alexander thus showed not onlv his abilitv to es-
timate duly the talents of his officers, which per-

iEtat. 32.] NYSEAN STEEDS— AMAZONS. 373

haps is no uncommon power — but, what is far more
rare, firm determination to support the useful,
against the arts and influence of the agreeable char-
acter, and to patronize merit, even if obnoxious to
favorites.

In this vicinity, were the famous pastures, wherein
the royal brood-mares reared their numerous foals.
Before the war, one hundred and fifty thousand
horses of all kinds and ages, were said to have grazed
in these pastures, but when Alexander visited them,
the number did not exceed fifty thousand. The rest
had been stolen during the troubles. Arrian, from
inattention, confounded two accounts given by Hero-
dotus, and affirmed the identity of these herds, with
the jSTysrean steeds. But the INyssean plain, as dis-
tinctly mentioned by Strabo, was close to the Caspian
gates ; and the number of ISTyssean horses, so far
from being countable by thousands, was very limited.
No more than seventeen of these highly-prized ani-
mals formed part of the procession in the advance of
the Persian army under Xerxes, and even one was
regarded as a fit present for a king. Their descrip-
tion suits well the cream-colored horses of the royal
Hanoverian stud.

It is in these rural retreats that some writers
place the interview between Alexander and the Ama-
zons; others again in Hyrcania. According to the
former, Atropates, the satrap of Media, presented
Alexander with a hundred Amazons, armed, mounted,
and equipped; but the silence of Ptolemy and Aris-
tobulus outweighs the assertion of others. If, how-

374 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

ever, 'a hundred young maidens, in the Amazonian
dress, with the right bosom bare, armed with the bow,
the quiver, and the pelta, and taught to manage their
chargers with ease and elegance, were really pre-
sented to Alexander by Atropates, it is easy to ac-
count for their masquerading dress. Atropates was
the governor of the very countries where the Ama-
zons were supposed to have resided, and a wish ex-
pressed by Alexander to see some of the race, if still
existing, was enough to recall them from the dead.
Without some such supposition, it is difficult to ac-
count for the belief, universal among inferior writ-
ers, of the Amazonian visit. Ptolemy and Aristo-
bulus, aware of the facts of the case, might easily
have left the device of Atropates unnoticed. The
writers who describe the appearance of the fair war-
riors, add, that Alexander sent a gallant message to
their queen, and ordered the young ladies to be im-
mediately escorted beyond the precincts of the en-
campment, before the younger officers undertook to
put the valor and gallantry of the maiden chivalry
to proof in arms.*

When Alexander reached Ecbatana he offered a
splendid sacrifice in gratitude for his continued pros-
perity. This was followed by the contests of the
palaestra, and theatrical representations. During
the festivities, Alexander repeatedly entertained his
friends, and the wine was not spared. The Medes

* The battles of the Amazons were a favorite subject of
Greek sculptors, but the Amazons themselves were at best a
semi-fabulous people.

Mtak. 32.] DEATH OF HEPH^STION. 375

and Persians, as I before remarked, were deep drink-
ers ; but the following passage from iElian is curious,
as it infers that such was not the custom among the
Greeks of his day. " When Aspasia was first intro-
duced to the younger Cyrus, he had just finished his
dinner, and was preparing to drink after the Persian
fashion ; for the Persians, after they have satisfied
their appetite with food, sit long over their wine,
pledge each other in copious draughts, and gird them-
selves to grapple with the bottle as with an antago-
nist." Heracleides of Cuma, as quoted by Athe-
na?us, goes still further, and writes, that " those
guests of the king of kings who were admitted to
share the royal compotations, never quitted the pres-
ence in the possession of their senses." A fever,
which attacked Hephsestion at this time, might,
therefore, have been produced by hard drinking, as
asserted by some writers; but the hardships which
he had lately undergone, and the continual change
of climate, are of themselves sufficient causes. It
was the seventh day of his illness, Alexander was
presiding at the games, and the stadium was full of
spectators, when a messenger brought information
that Hephspstion was alarmingly ill : Alexander hur-
ried away, but his friend was dead before he ar-
rived.

* Various writers," says Arrian, " have given
various accounts of Alexander's sorrow on this oc-
casion. All agree that it was excessive, but his actions
are differently described, as the writers were biased
by affection or hostility to Hephsestion, or even to

376 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

Alexander. Some, who have described his conduct
as frantic and outrageous, regard all his extrava-
gant deeds and words on the loss of his dearest friend,
as honorable to his feelings, while others deem them
degrading and unworthy of a king and of Alexander.
Some write, that for the remainder of that day he
lay lamenting upon the body of his friend, which he
would not quit until he was torn away by his com-
panions ; others, that he remained there for a day
and a night. Others write, that he hanged the phy-
sician Glaucias ; — because, according to one state-
ment, he gave him wrong medicine ; according to
another, because he stood by and allowed his patient
to fill himself with wine. I think it probable that
he cut off his hair in memory of the dead, both for
other reasons and from emulation of Achilles, whom
from his childhood he had chosen for his model.
But those who write that Alexander drove the hearse
which conveyed the body, state what is incredible.
ISTor are they more entitled to belief who say that he
destroyed the temple of ^Esculapius at Ecbatana, the
deed of a barbarian, and inconsistent with the char-
acter of Alexander, but more in unison with Xerxes'
wanton outrages against the divinities, and with the
fetters dropped by him into the waves, in order, for-
sooth, to punish the Hellespont. —

" The following anecdote does not appear to me
altogether improbable. Many embassies from
Greece, and among others, deputies from Epidaurus,
met him on the road between Ecbatana and Babylon.
Alexander granted the petition of the Epidaurians,

JEtat. 32.] CONQUEST OF THE COSS^I.. S77

and presented them with a valuable ornament, for
the temple of ^Esculapius ; adding, however, l Al-
though zEsculapius has used me unkindly, in not
saving the friend who was as dear to me as my own
life.'—

" Almost all agree, that he ordered Hephsestion to
be honored with the minor religious ceremonies due
to deified heroes. Some say that he consulted Am-
nion, whether he might not sacrifice to Hephsestion as
to a god, and that the answer forbad him. All agree
in the following facts, that for three days he tasted
no food, nor permitted any attention to his person,
but lay down, either lamenting or mournfully silent ;
that he ordered a funeral pile to be constructed at an
expense of 10,000 talents; (some say more,) that all
his barbarian subjects were ordered to go into mourn-
ing; and that several of the king's companions, in
order to pay their court dedicated themselves and
their arms to the deceased."

Thus Arrian : The passage has been introduced
partly for the curious information contained in it,
and partly for the sake of enabling the modern reader
to see from what a mass of contradictory matter the
historian had select his facts.

From Ecbatana, Alexander returned to Babylon.
The royal road, connecting the capitals of Media and
Assyria passed through the territories of the Cosssei,
a mountain tribe who occupied the valleys and high
ground between the upper part of the courses of the
modern Abzal and Caroon. These bandits used to
receive a tribute, under the name of presents, from

378 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

the king of kings, as often as he travelled between
Babylon and Ecbatana. It may be inferred that,
like the Uxians, they had not failed to demand the
same from Alexander; but he, although the winter
was far advanced, made war upon them and pursued
them into their mountain fastnesses. In Arrian's
words, " neither the winter nor the ruggedness of the
country were any hindrances to Alexander and Pto-
lemy the son of Lagus, who commanded a division
of the armv." It is in the winter season alone that
the robbers who inhabit the high mountains of Asia,
can be successfully invaded; if assailed in summer,
they move from hill to hill, sink one while into the
abvsses of their ravines, and at another time ascend
to the loftiest peaks. Their flocks, partly concealed
in retired vales, partly accompanying their move-
ments, furnish them with provisions ; but if the
principal villages, where they keep their stores, flocks,
and herds, be captured during the winter season, the
inhabitants must either perish or come to terms. It
was when the snow was knee-deep on the ground,
that Timour* at last conquered the Koords of Mount
Zagrus, a race cognate with the Cosssei. After Alex-
ander had compelled these to surrender, he built
towns and fortresses in the most commanding posi-
tions, in order to restrain their depredations in fu-
ture; but the cure was only temporary; they soon
relapsed into their ancient habits, and when Anti-
gonus had to pass through the vale of the Abzal, to
the vicinity of Ecbatana, in his expedition against

* Tamerlane.

Mtat. 32.] EMBASSIES. 379

Eumenes, his army narrowly escaped destruction
from these Cosssei, to whom he had refused the cus-
tomary gratuity.

As Alexander was advancing towards Babvlon, he
met numerous embassies — sent from various nations
to congratulate him on his final success, and the
acquisition of the empire of Asia. Here presented
themselves ambassadors from Libya — from the
Bruttii, Lucanians, and Tuscans of Italy — from
Carthage — from the ^Ethiopians — from the Scyth-
ians in Europe — from the Celtge and the Iberi, whose
dress was then first seen, and their names heard by
the Greeks and Macedonians. Some of these sought
the King's friendship and alliance ; some protection
from more powerful neighbors ; others submitted
their common disputes to his arbitration. This
universal homage was regarded, both by Alex-
ander and his friends, as a recognition of his sove-
reignty over the known world. His fame had made
a deep impression on the nations of the west. The
Greeks of Italy and Sicily extolled the glory of the
captain-general of the Greeks, and threatened the
barbarians who harassed them with his vengeance.
The fall of Tyre was an event calculated to give a
shock to the nations from the Phoenician coast to the
British isles. The lamentations of Carthage for her
mother city, and her known fears of a similar fate,
were sufficient to spread the terrors of Alexander's
name from coast to coast, and to indicate him as
the vanquisher of the proud and the refuge of the
distrest. The Spanish Iberi would have ample

3S0 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

cause to complain of the encroachments of the Cartha-
ginians on their shores; while the embassies of the
Tuscans and Lucanians could hardly have any other
object than to represent the power, the ambition, and
the king-detesting tyranny of Rome.

Aristus and Asclepiades, two historians not dis-
tinguished for their credulity, wrote that Roman
ambassadors visited Alexander, who, after giving
them audience, foretold their future greatness, from
witnessing the steadiness, the enterprise, and free
spirit of the men, and from hearing an accurate
account of their political constitution. " I have
mentioned this (says Arrian) not as certain, nor
yet as altogether to be disbelieved." Strabo writes
that Alexander sent an embassy to Rome, to remon-
strate against the piracies of the Tuscans under the
supposed protection of the Romans.

Livy is very eloquent in his attempt to prove that,
if Alexander had invaded Italy, he would have been
assuredly defeated and vanquished by the Romans.
But partiality must either have blinded his judgment,
or induced him to suppress his honest convictions.
It required more than ordinary hardihood to assert
the superiority of Papirius Cursor over the con-
queror of the East. Had Alexander entered Italy,
it would have been at the head of an irresistible
force by land and sea. The Greeks, Lucanians,
and Samnites, would have hailed him as a deliverer,
and their bravest warriors would have fought under
his banners. The Samnites alone, three years after
Alexander's death, were strong enough to gain the

iEtat. 32.] ALEXANDER'S TACTICS. 381

famous victory at the defile of Caudium, and the
Tuscans were successfully struggling against the des-
potism of Rome. Alexander had found eight hun-
dred thousand talents in the different treasuries of
the empire. His resources, therefore, were inex-
haustible; and these, applied with the extraordinary
activity and perseverance which characterized all his
operations, would not have left the Romans one hope
of finally saving themselves. If, in later years,
Pyrrhus, the needy prince of the small kingdom of
Epirus, with his confined means, shook Rome to her
foundations, it is idle to suppose that, in a far feebler
state, she could for a moment have withstood the
whirlwind shock of Alexander's chivalry. He did
not trust for victory to the activity of the phalanx,
but maintained it as a tower of strength, as a fortress
in reserve, round which the broken part of his forces
might always rally. For attack he trusted to his
cavalry, mixed with infantry — to his mounted ar-
chers and dartmen — to his bowmen — and especially
to his Agrians, a species of light-armed regular in-
fantry. If with these he made an impression upon
the enemy's thronged ranks, broke their lines, or
confounded their order, he then brought up the pha-
lanx with its serried front of iron pikes, and swept
them off the field.

The Romans would probably have fought bravely,
but they had neither the skill nor the strength to
contend with Alexander. In his days their arms
and discipline were very deficient ; nor was their
resolution, as proved by the surrender at Caudium, of

382 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 324.

that stern cast which knows no alternative between
death and victory.

Although they may in the history of the world
be regarded as the political heirs of Alexander, yet
a long period elapsed before they entered on their
inheritance. They never took possession of the ex-
tensive empire between the Euphrates, the Indus,
and the Jaxartes; and the Macedonian had been
dead for nearly three hundred years, before the king-
dom of the son of Lagus was added to the dominion of
Home.

CHAPTER XVI.

LAST YEAR OF ALEXANDERS LIFE. B. C. 323.

Alexander had crossed the Tigris on his road to
Babylon, when a deputation of Chaldsean priests
waited upon him, and besought him not to enter
the city, as their god Belus had communicated to
them, that a visit to Babylon at the time would not
be to the king's advantage. Alexander, startled at
the warning not to enter the city which he intended
for the capital of his empire, repeated to his friends
a line from Euripides, the sceptical poet of Greece,
expressing that

" A fair guesser is the best prophet,"

and signified his determination to proceed. It ap-
pears that he suspected the motives of these Chal-
dsean diviners. The work of rebuilding the great
temple of Belus had proceeded but slowly, and Alex-
ander, displeased at this, had announced his inten-
tion to employ the whole army in its completion.
This announcement was by no means agreeable to the
Chaldaaans, to whom Alexander had restored the
broad lands with which the Assyrian kings had en-
dowed the temple ; for as long as the edifice remained

383

384 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

unfinished, the priests enjoyed its ample revenues
without deductions, but these, as soon as it was com-
pleted, would be principally expended on the victims,
lights, incense, and numerous servants whom the
pomp and ceremony of Assyrian worship rendered
necessary. Of the extent of this expenditure, and
of the magnificence of the worship, some idea may
be formed from a fact stated by Herodotus, that
during the festival of Belus one thousand talents of
frankincense were consumed on one altar. Alex-
ander was, therefore, led to believe that the warning
voice proceeded from the self-interest of the priests
and not from the provident care of their god.

The Chaldaeans, thus unexpectedly baffled, and
probably conscious that the monarch was likely to be
as safe within as without the walls of Babvlon, now

1/ 7

took up a new position ; and said the danger might
be averted were the king and the army to make a
circuit, and enter the city by the western in place of
the eastern gate. Alexander attempted to comply
with this advice, but as the marshes and lakes above
the town rendered its execution difficult, he gave up
the endeavor, and entered by the fatal portal.

The signs and warnings were supposed, by the
diviners of ancient times, to be more distinct and
frequent, when the fate of the mighty on the earth
was trembling in the balance. Accordingly omens,
which could not be mistaken, are said to have pre-
ceded deaths of all the great men whose lives have
been particularly recorded by ancient writers. As
part, therefore, of the history of the opinions and

JEtsit. 33.] BELIEF IN OMENS. 385

feelings of the day, those which were supposed to
have indicated the approaching death of Alexander,
deserve attention.

" Aristobulus writes that Apollodorus of Amphi-
polis, one of the Companions, had been left behind
to command the military force under Mazams, the sa-
trap of Babylon. On Alexander's return from India,
he had been summoned to the camp, and had wit-
nessed the punishment of various. satraps. Alarmed
by their fate, he sent to consult his brother Pei-
thagoras, a diviner, who by inspecting the entrails
of victims, could foretell future events. Peitha-
goras sent back to inquire whom he most dreaded,
and heard from his brother that it wag the King
himself and liephsestion. The diviner then con-
sulted the victims with respect to ITephsestion ; and,
on finding the liver imperfect, informed his brother
by a sealed letter that he need not be afraid of
Hepha?stion, who would soon be out of the way.
Apollodorus received this letter at Ecbatana the day
before ITepha?stion's death. Peithagoras then sacri-
ficed concerning Alexander, found the same imper-
fection in the liver, and transmitted the information
to his brother. He to prove his loyalty, showed the
letter to Alexander, who commended his openness,
and on arriving at Babylon, asked Peithagoras what
the inauspicious omen was. The diviner replied
that it was the absence of the head of the liver. The
King then asked what this foreboded, and was honest-
ly answered, " some great misfortune." Alexander,
so far from being angry with Peithagoras, treated

336 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

liim with greater consideration, because he had hon-
estly told him the truth. Aristobulus writes that
he received this account from Peithagoras himself."

It is easy to remember prophetical sayings after
the event has taken place, and many Macedonians
recalled to mind that Calanus took leave of all his
friends but the King, whom he said he was soon to
see at Babylon. Such reports lose nothing by trans-
mission ; we ought not therefore to be surprised that
Cicero, in his work on divination, asserts as a well-
known fact that Calanus distinctly foretold the im-
pending death of Alexander.

Numerous embassies from Grecian states waited
the King's arrival at Babylon; they were all com-
plimentary, and received due honors. To them
was entrusted the care of the trophies which Xerxes
had carried away from Greece, and which the King
ordered to be reconveyed to the several cities whence
they had been removed. Athenseus has quoted a
passage from Phylarchus descriptive of the appear-
ance of Alexander's court on public days, which, in
the absence of better authority, I introduce here.

" The golden plane trees, the vine of pure gold
loaded with clusters of emeralds, Indian carbuncles,
and other invaluable gems, under which the kings
of Persia used to sit and give audience, were not
equal in value to the sum of Alexander's expenses
for one day. His tent contained a hundred couches,
and was supported by eight columns of solid gold.
Over head was stretched cloth of gold wrought with
various devices, and expanded so as to cover the

iEtat. 33.] FLEET IN THE CASPIAN. 387

whole ceiling. Within, in a semi-circle, stood five
hundred Persians, bearing lances adorned with pome-
granates. Their dress was purple and orange. Next
to these were drawn up a thousand archers, partly
clothed in flame-colored and partly in scarlet dresses.
Many of those wore azure-colored sashes. In front of
these were arranged five hundred Macedonian Argy-
raspides. In the middle of the tent was placed a
golden throne, on which Alexander sat and gave
audience, while the great officers of the guard stood
behind and on either side of him. The tent on the
outside was encircled by the elephants drawn up in
order, and by a thousand Macedonians in their native
dress. Beyond these were arranged the Persian
guard of ten thousand men, and the ^ve hundred
courtiers allowed to wear purple robes. But out of
this crowd of friends and attendants, no one dared to
approach near to Alexander, so great was the majesty
with which he was surrounded."

But neither the homage of suppliant nations nor
the pomp and magnificence of his court, could divert
the active mind of Alexander from useful projects.
He sent Argseus with a band of shipwrights to the
shores of the Caspian sea with orders to cut timber
in the Hyrcanian forests, and to build ships on the
plan of the Grecian war vessels. Por he was anxious
to discover with what sea the Caspian communicated.

The Greek philosophers reasoning from analogy
had not given credit to Herodotus concerning its
alleged isolation. Nor was their scepticism blam-
able. Herodotus wrote only from report y and as his

388 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

account of the rivers that flow into that sea is grossly
erroneous, his accuracy respecting the sea itself can
be regarded only as casual. The narrow outlets that
connect the Miotic with the Propontis, the Propontis
with the Euxine, the Euxine with the Mediterra-
nean, and the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, had
prepared them to expect a similar outlet in the Cas-
pian. They would not, therefore, without a careful
investigation of every creek on its coast, allow the
anomaly of an inland sea that did not communicate
with the circumambient ocean. Alexander did not
live to hear of the success of his plans, but Seleucus
carried them into execution, and a fleet under his
admiral, Patrocles, was employed to survey care-
fully the shores of the Caspian. The dangers
attendant on the navigation of that rude and bois-
terous basin seem, however, to have been too great
for the courage of Patrocles. His pretended dis-
coveries of the mouths of the Oxus and Jaxartes,
and of a south-east passage into the Indian Ocean,
are proofs that he never in reality fulfilled his com-
mission, nor examined the shores. Had Alexander
himself lived, the veil of darkness that enveloped
those regions for thirteen centuries longer would
probably have been removed.

The Indian fleet, under Nearchus, had sailed from
the great estuary, up the Euphrates to Babylon.
Alexander, on his return to Ecbatana, found it
there, as well as two quinqueremes, four quadri-
remes, twelve triremes, and thirty triaconters, which
had arrived from the Mediterranan, The vessels

iEtat. 33.] ASSYRIA. 389

had been taken to pieces on the Phoenician coast,
carried by land to Thapsacus, re-constructecl there,
and navigated down the Euphrates to Babylon.
There he ordered a harbor large enough to accom-
modate a thousand ships of war, to be excavated
on the banks of the Euphrates, and covered docks in
proportion to be constructed. Sailors from all parts
of the Mediterranean hurried to man his fleet ; among
these the fishermen of the murex or purple-fish, on
the Phoenician coast are particularly mentioned.
Agents were sent to engage the most skilful seamen,
and to purchase the ablest rowers for his service.
In a word, it was his intention to form on the Susian
and Babylonian coast, a second Phoenicia — equal in
wealth and population to the Syrian.

He had fixed upon Babylon for the seat of em-
pire, as the central spot between Egypt and the
Mediterranean on one side, and the Indus and East-
ern Ocean on the other. The fertility of Assyria was
boundless, and its revenues, in the time of Herodotus,
formed a third of the annual receipts of the Persian
kings. But these had neglected the interests of
Assyria, and the ruined cities on the banks of the
Tigris, described by Xenophon, attest the extent
of desolation. It was Alexander's policy to heal
the wounds inflicted by them and to restore Assyria
to her ancient supremacy. But before this could be
done effectually, and an unrestrained communication
opened between the provinces of the south-western
empire, it was necessary to reduce the Arabs to subjec-
tion. Their position to the west of Babylonia made

390 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

incursions into the province easy, and their command
of the course of the Euphrates enabled them to exact
ruinous sums from the merchants navigating that
river. His plan for their subjugation was for the
fleet to circumnavigate the Arabian peninsula, and
its motions to be attended by a land force. Thirty
oared galleys were sent successively to examine the
southern shores of the Persian Gulf, and to report
the state of the Arabian coast. Hiero, a sea captain
from Soli, ventured furthest. His orders had been
to sail round into the Red Sea, until he arrived in
the vicinity of the Egyptian Heropolis. But when
he had coasted along the whole extent of the shore
within the gulf, and doubled the formidable cape now
called Has Musendoon, his heart also failed him, and
he ventured to announce to Alexander the greatness
of the undertaking.

But difficulties only stimulated him, and the prep-
parations for the departure of the great expedition
were carried on without any cessation. Had it set
out under the command of the King, the probability
is that it would have proved successful. The Arabs
were not formidable in the field ; and an active land
force, supported by a large fleet, might, without
enduring much hardship or opposition, have made
the circuit of the peninsula. The fertile spots be-
tween Muscat and Mocha, and Mocha and Mecca,
are numerous enough to furnish ample provision
for an invading army; and from Mecca he could
easily, have transferred his troops to the Egyptian

Mtat 33.] THE PALLACOPAS. 391

shore, where the resources of the valley of the Nile
were at his command.

While the preparations were still continued, the
King turned his attention to the canals and irriga-
tion of Assyria. To the west or south-west of Bab-
ylon was a long succession of large cavities or
depressions in the soil, into which the superfluous
waters of the Euphrates could be turned in the
season of the floods. These cavities were supposed
to have been the works of former Assyrian kings,
and were equal in extent to an inland sea. The
canal, which connected the Euphrates with these
reservoirs, was called the Pallacopas; its upper end
being in the right bank of the great river, about
thirty-six miles above Babylon. The entrance into
the Pallacopas was opened during the floods, in order
to relieve the banks near and below Babylon from
part of the pressure of the waters ; but when the floods
subsided, it was necessary again to obstruct the en-
trance, and to prevent the water in its fertilizing
state from escaping into the lakes. It was easy to cut
the bank, and admit the flood waters into the Palla-
copas, and thence into the great basins; but it was
a Herculean task to repair the breach, and compel
the Euphrates to resume its ordinary channel. The
satrap of Assyria had every year to employ 10,000
men, for three months, in the work of obstruction.
Alexander sailed up the Euphrates, and examining
the mouth of the Pallacopas, found it impossible to
remedy the evil at the point where the cut was
annually made, as the whole soil in the vicinity was

392 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

gravelly and alluvial, and almost defied the task of
obstruction; but on examining the bank higher up
the stream, he found, about four miles from the
ancient place, a spot where the bank below the surface
was rocky. Here he ordered a new channel to be
excavated, which might, with comparative ease, be
constructed in the proper season.

As the spring floods had already commenced, he
sailed down the Pallacopas into the lakes. On
arriving at the foot of the hills, below which in
after ages the Arabs built Cufa, he fixed on the
site of the last Alexandria founded by him. It is
supposed to have been the Hira of a later period.

Thence he sailed back towards Babylon, pleased
that he had thus escaped the misfortune foretold
bv the Chaldsean seers. The lakes on which he was
sailing were studded with small islands, many of
which were crowned with the sepulchres of the
ancient kings of Assyria. As he was steering his
own vessel between those islets, the broad-brimmed
hat, which he wore as a protection against the heat,
and round which the royal diadem or band was
wreathed, was blown overboard by a violent gust of
wind. The hat fell into the water, but the diadem
being lighter was carried by the wind into some tall
reeds, that grew around one of the royal tombs. A
sailor swam ashore, recovered the diadem, and, in
order to preserve it dry while he was swimming back,
placed it on his head. For this presumption, accord-
ing to Aristobulus, the man, who was a Phoenician
sailor, received a flogging; according to others, who

-ffitat. 33.] FORMATION OF MIXED FORCE. 393

were more anxious for an antithetical sentence than
for the truth, he received a talenl for his good serv-
ice and death for his presumption. According to
a third account, the recoverer of the diadem was
Seleucus, whose future greatness, as the most power-
ful of the successors of Alexander, was thus indicated.
These various accounts prove that the incident at
the time was looked upon as a trifle, and that, after
Alexander's death, the superstitious narrated it
according to their own fancies.

At Babvlon Alexander found Peucastes who had
brought 20,000 Persian recruits and a considerable
force of Tapeiri and Cossoei, whom the Persians
represented as their most warlike neighbors. These
were not incorporated with the already existing
Persian force, but formed into a separate body. The
lowest division of his new phalanx was called a
decad, although it contained sixteen individuals, of
whom twelve were Persians. The front and rear
men were Macedonians, with an increased pay; as
were the two officers answering to the modern Ser-
jeants, whose duty it was to drill and discipline the
division. The superior officers of this new corps
were all Macedonians, so that its establishment must
have caused an immense promotion among them. It
is curious that, while the four Macedonians bore the
arms of the Greek heavy-armed infantry, the twelve
Persians were partly armed with bows and partly
with darts. This new force appears to have been
admirably adapted for the service which the army
had to expect in its march round Arabia.

394 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

The naval preparations were carried on without
intermission. Cypress trees, the only ship-timber
on the banks of the Euphrates, were cut down, and
new ships constructed. The rowers and pilots were
exercised daily, and prizes awarded for superior
activity and skill in the management of the vessels.

Ambassadors from southern Greece now came to
present Alexander with golden crowns ; and these,
on advancing to his presence, appeared in the sacred
garlands, which were never worn by deputies, except
when commissioned to consult oracles, or to carry
gifts to the shrines of distant deities. But while
these servile republicans hailed him with divine
honors — while the bravest and best disciplined army
on the face of the earth loved him as their leader
and revered him as their King — while his newlv-
created fleet was furrowing with unwonted keels the
bosom of the Euphrates, and preparing to spread its
sails on seas unknown — while he was anticipating
the fulfilment of his early dreams of becoming the
master of the gold, the aromatics, the myrrh, and the
frankincense of the hitherto untouched Saba?a, and
of compelling the sons of the desert to add a third
god to their scanty Pantheon — while he was preparing
to forge the last link of the golden chain which was to
bind together his subjects on the Indus, the Tigris,
and the Nile, by the strong ties of mutual advantages
— the scene was suddenly changed, and he was cut
down in the prime of life, in the height of his glory,
and in the middle of his vast projects.

" And perhaps (says Arrian) it was better thus

JKtsit. 33.] ORIENTAL CUSTOMS. 395

to depart, to the extreme regret of all men, while
his glory was unstained, and before he was overtaken
by those calamities to which mortals are exposed, and
on account of which Solon advised Croesus to con-
sider the end of life, and to pronounce no man happy
on this side of the grave."

A few days before his last illness, he was busily
employed in superintending the formation of his new
corps. The tent, which was his favorite residence,
was erected on the plain ; and in front was placed
the throne, whence he could inspect the proceedings.
In the course of the day he retired to quench his
thirst, and was attended by all the great officers, who
left the throne under the sole care of the eunuchs of
the palace. An obscure Greek, who was on the field,
seeing the throne and the seats on both sides empty,
with the eunuchs standing in rows behind, walked
up, and deliberately seated himself upon the throne.
The eunuchs, it appears, were prevented by the eti-
quette of the Persian court from disturbing the in-
truder, but they raised a loud cry of lamentation,
tore their garments, beat their breasts and foreheads,
and showed other signs of grief, as if some great
misfortune had befallen them. The event was
judged to be highly important, and the intruder was
put to the torture in order to discover whether he
had accomplices or not in this overt act of treason, —
for such it was considered to be bv all the Persians
of the court. But the only answer which they could
extract from the unhappy man was, that he had acted
most unintentionally, and without any ulterior views.

396 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

This confession, in the opinion of the diviners, gave a
more fatal complexion to the omen. Without a
knowledge of eastern customs it would have been
impossible to discover why so much importance was
paid to a trifling occurrence ; but the following pas-
sage from the Emperor Baber's autobiography will
illustrate this and other obscure points of the eastern
history.

" It is a singular custom in the history of Bengal
that there is little of hereditary descent in succession
to the sovereignty. There is a throne allotted for
the king, there is in like manner a seat or station
assigned for each of the amirs, vazirs, and sobdars.
It is that throne and these stations alone which en-
gage the reverence of the people of Bengal. A set of
dependents, servants, and attendants are annexed to
each of these situations ; when the king wishes to
dismiss or appoint any person, whosoever is placed
in the seat of the one dismissed is immediately at-
tended and obeyed by the whole establishment of
dependants, servants, and retainers annexed to the
seat which he occupies ; nay, even this rule obtains
even as to the roval throne itself; whoever kills the
king and succeeds in placing himself on that throne
is immediately acknowledged as king. All the amirs,
vazirs, soldiers, and peasants, instantly obey and
submit to him, and consider him as much their sov-
ereign as they did their former prince, and obey his
orders as implicitly. The people of Bengal say,
1 We are faithful to the throne ; whoever fills the
throne we are obedient and true to it."

^Etat. 33.] ORIENTAL CUSTOMS. 397

To this passage the editor of Baber adds the fol-
lowing note : " Strange as this custom may seem, a
similar one prevailed down to a very late period in
Malabar. There was a jubilee every twelve years
in the Samorin's country, and any one who succeeded
in forcing his way through the Samorin's guards and
slew him reigned in his stead. The attempt was
made in 1695, and again a few years ago, but with-
out success. "

The Persians and Medes were not Hindoos, but
seem to have adopted many ceremonies from the
Assyrians, who were a cognate people with the Egyp-
tians and Indians. This doctrine of obedience to
the throne had been established for the safety of
the great body of the nation during the civil contests.
It furnished a valid excuse for obeying the king de
facto, without inquiring into his title de jure. But
the very principle adopted to insure the national tran-
quillity became one great cause of civil wars. For
when any bold adventurer succeeded in gathering a
sufficient number of marauders, bandits, and out-
casts not troubled with any conscientious scruples on
the subject of passive obedience, he boldly claimed
the throne, and success formed the best of titles.

The change of battle might prove fatal to the
reigning monarch, and thus at once convert the loyal
troops into a band of rebels. The Persians under
Cyrus the Younger did not salute him as king, until
they had witnessed the defeat of the royal army;
although Cyrus had long before claimed the crown,
because he was a better man than his brother.

398 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

The assassination of Darius by Bessus and his ac-
complices must be referred to the same principle.
By the murder of his sovereign, Bessus transferred
his rights to himself. But had Darius fallen alive
into the hands of Alexander, thev would have de-
volved upon the captor.

Many battles in the east have been lost in conse-
quence of this feeling. Mahmoud of Chisni gained
the battle which opened India to his army, becausethe
elephant of his victorious opponent became unruly
and bore the Rajah off the field. And Dara, a de-
scendant of the same Baber from whom we derive
the knowledge of this feeling, lost the throne of
Dehli, because in the battle which secured the crown
to his brother Aurungzebe he happened to dismount
from his elephant in the heat of the contest.

From this digression we may form some opinion
of the reasons which induced the Persians to treat
with such severity the chance-occupant of the royal
seat of Alexander.

Previous to setting out on the Arabian expedi-
tion, the King, according to his usual practice, of-
fered a splendid sacrifice for its success; wine and
tVictims were distributed among the divisions and
subdivisions of the army, and the great officers were
entertained magnificently by the monarch himself.
The wine circulated freelv until the nieht was far
spent; the King then rose and was retiring to his
tent, when Medius, the Thessalian, who, since the
death of Hephaestion and the departure of Craterus,
had most personal influence with him, besought him

JEtat. 33.] ILLNESS OF ALEXANDER. 399

to visit his lodgings, where he would find a pleasant
party assembled. For what followed Arrian has
copied the Royal Diary, in which the movements and
health of the King were made known to the public.
It forms the most ancient series of bulletins on record,
and is here presented to the reader, reduced from the
indirect to the direct form.

" The king banqueted and drank wine with
Medius; he then rose from table, bathed and slept.

" He again dined with Medius, and drank till
late at night ; on rising from the table he bathed,
and after bathing, ate a little, and slept there, for
he was now in a fever.

" He was carried on a couch to the place of
sacrifice, and sacrificed according to his daily cus-
tom. After finishing the service, he lay down in
the public room until it was dark. During the day
he gave orders to the leaders concerning the march
and voyage ; the land forces were told to be ready
to commence their march on the fourth, and the fleet,
which he proposed to accompany, to sail on the fifth
day. He was then conveyed in a litter to the river
side, where he was placed on board a vessel and fer-
ried across into the park. There he again bathed
and went to rest.

" Next day he bathed and offered the usual sacri-
fices ; he then returned to his chamber, where he lay
down and conversed with Medius. Orders were
given to the generals to attend him next morning.
After this he dined sparingly, and was carried back

400 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

to his chamber. During the whole of this night, for
the first time, there was no intermission of fever.

" Next day he bathed and sacrificed, then gave
orders to Nearchus and the other leaders to be ready
to sail on the third day.

" Next day he bathed again, offered the appointed
sacrifices, and finished the service ; and although
there was no remission in the violence of the fever,
he yet called in the leaders and ordered them to have
everything in readiness for the departure of the
fleet. In the evening he bathed, and after bathing
was very ill.

" Next day he was removed to the house close to
the great swimming-bath, where he offered the ap-
pointed sacrifices. Ill as he was he called in the
principal officers, and gave orders about the expe-
dition.

" On the following day it was not without diffi-
culty that he was carried to the altar and offered
the sacrifice ; he would nevertheless give further
orders to the great officers concerning the voyage.

" Next day, although extremely ill, he offered the
appointed sacrifices, and ordered the generals to re-
main assembled in the court, and the chiliarchs and
the pentacosiarchs in front of the gates. Being now
dangerously ill he was carried from the park into the
palace ; when the generals entered, he knew them, but
said nothing, as he was speechless. The fever was
very violent during the night.

" And the following day and night,

" And the following day."

JEtat. 33.] ILLNESS OF ALEXANDER. 401

This was the account written in the Royal Diary :
" Upon this (continues Arrian) the soldiers became
eager to see him; some to see him once more alive,
others because it was reported that he was already
dead, and a suspicion had arisen that his death was
concealed by the chief officers of the guard — but
the majority, as I think, from sorrow and anxiety
for their king; they therefore forced their way into
his chamber. As the men passed his couch in succes-
sion, he, although speechless, greeted them individ-
ually, by raising his head with difficulty and by the
expression of his eyes."

" Moreover," according to the Royal Diary, " Pei-
thon, Attains, Demophon, Peucestas, Cleomenes,
Menidas, and Seleucus, slept in the temple of Sera-
pis, and asked the god if it would be desirable and
better for Alexander to be conveyed to the temple,
and to supplicate the god and be healed by him;
but the answer from the god forbad his removal,
declaring that it would be better for him to remain
where he was. The companions reported this answer,
and Alexander not long after expired, as if, under all
circumstances, that were the better fate."

The account given by Ptolemy and Aristobulus
does not essentially differ from this. According to
some writers, his friends asked him to whom he
bequeathed the empire, and he answered " to the
strongest;"* according to others he added, " that he

* Strongest in the sense of best. Alexander himself had
ruled by the force of his fitness, by his talents and character.
Only so could his successor hold the empire.

26

402 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

foresaw a bloody competition at his funeral games."
These extracts from Arrian contain all that can
be regarded as authentic respecting the last illness
and death of Alexander ; for Plutarch, who has given
a version of the Royal Diaries, agreeing in most
points with the above, has most unfairly suppressed
every notice of the impending expedition, in order
to make his readers believe that the great man,
whose life he was recording, had latterly lost all
vigor of mind and energy of character, and become
the abject slave of intemperance and superstition.

The fever to which he fell a victim, was probably
contracted in his visit to the marshes ; and the thirst
which compelled him on a public day to quit his
military duties, proves that it was raging in his veins
before it absolutely overcame him. The exertions at
the public banquet, and the protracted drinking at
the house of Medius, must have seriouslv increased
the disease. Strong men, like Alexander, have often
warded off attacks of illness by increased excitement,
but if this fail to produce the desired effect, the re-
action is terrible. It is curious that no physician is
mentioned. The King seems to have trusted to
two simple remedies, abstinence and bathing. His
removal to the summer house, close to the large
cold bath, shows how much he confided in the latter
remedy. But the extraordinary fatigues which he
had undergone, the exposure within the last three
years to the rains of the Punjab, the marshes of the
Indus, the burning sands of Gedrosia, the hot vapors
of Susiana, the frost and snow of Mount Zagrus,

Mtat. 33.] HIS DEATH. 403

and the marsh miasma of the Babylonian lakes,
proved too much even for his iron constitution.
The numerous wounds by which his body had been
perforated, and especially the serious injury to the
lungs from the Mallian arrow, must have in some
degree impaired the vital functions, and enfeebled
the powers of healthy re-action.

Under such disadvantages we must admire the
unconquered will, the unflinching spirit with which
he bore up against the ravages of the disease, his
resolute performance of his religious duties, and
the regular discharge of his royal and military func-
tions. On the ninth day, when he was carried to
the palace, and all the officers down to the com-
manders of five hundred were commanded to attend,
it was evidently his intention to have taken leave
and given his last orders; but nature failed, and he
was unable to express his wishes when the generals
were admitted. The report, therefore, of his having
bequeathed the empire to the strongest is probably;
either an invention, or an inference from previous
conversations, in which he might have foretold the
natural consequences of his premature death.

The sleeping of the officers in the Temple of
Serapis, is a curious fact in the history of supersti-
tion. It proves that Serapis was an Assyrian god,
whom the first Ptolemy must have well known, and
this utterly subverts the account preferred by Tac-
itus, of the introduction of the worship of Serapis
into Egypt. That most felicitous painter of the
darker traits of human nature, and unrivalled mas-

404 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

ter in the art of hinting more than he affirms, is a
gross perverter of the truth, whenever he ventures
on the subject of Eastern Antiquities.

Strabo furnishes us with the best explanation of the
conduct of the great officers, and of their motives for
sleeping in the temple of Serapis. " Canopus pos-
sesses the temple of Serapis, that is honored with
great reverence and distinguished for its healing
powers. The most respectable characters believe
this, and sleep in the temple either for themselves
or for their friends. Some historians give an ac-
count of the cures, others of the oracles." In these
few words we see why the friends slept there, and
why they were anxious to carry their beloved sove-
reign thither.

But — as many readers may be surprised to hear
that Alexander died in the course of nature of a
regular marsh fever, and that neither poison nor
the cup of Hercules proved fatal to him — I add for
their satisfaction the following paragraph from
iArrian.

" I know that many other accounts have been
written concerning the death of Alexander — that he
died of poison sent by Antipater, and prepared by
Aristotle, who since the death of Calisthenes was
afraid of him; that Cassander carried this — accord-
ing to some, in the hoof of a mule, (for even this
absurdity has been recorded) ; — that Iollas, the
younger brother of Cassander, administered it, as
he was the royal cupbearer, and had a short time
Ibefore been aggrieved by Alexander; — that Medius,

iEtat. 33.] VARIOUS REPORTS. 405

the friend of Iollas, was an accomplice, and per-
suaded the king to join the revellers; — and that on
draining the cup, he was instantly seized with sharp
pangs — and quitted the party. One writer has even
been graceless enough to affirm, that Alexander, on
discovering that his illness was likely to prove fatal,
rushed out with the intention of throwing himself
into the Euphrates, that his disappearance might
incline men to believe his divine descent and super-
natural departure — that while he was quitting the
palace clandestinely he was discovered by Roxana,
and prevented ; and that he then lamented with a
sigh, l that she had grudged him the eternal honor
of being esteemed a god.' I have noticed these
reports, not because they are credible, but from a
wish to show that I am not ignorant of them." *

* About all that we knowdefinitely of the ultimate burial-
place of Alexander is summed up in the following para-
graph :— |" Diodorus Siculus tells us that after the body of
Alexander had lain neglected in his tent for six days after his
death, while his generals were quarrelling as to who should
succeed him, it was embalmed and placed in a temporary
coffin for the purpose of being conveyed to iEgae in Macedonia.
Arridaeus, the son of Philip, who had finally been elected
King, was entrusted with the care of the funeral rites, and
started accordingly with the body from Babylon, intending
to convey it to Macedonia. Before, however, that journey
was completed, Arridaeus learned that Alexander had ex-
pressed a desire, during his life, that his body should be laid
to rest in the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the desert to the
east (?) of Egypt, which he had visited after the conquest of
that country and where he had been saluted as the son of
Jupiter. Upon hearing of this, Arridaeus altered the direction
of the route, and the procession turned its face towards Egypt.

406 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 32B.

" Alexander (continues Arrian,) died in the hun-
dred and fourteenth Olympiad, when Hegesias was

Whether it actually reached its destination, however, the his-
torian does not say."

In the year 1887 antiquarians discovered a great " find " in
the shape of a group of buried tombs near Sidon. The place
of these tombs is about a mile north-east of Sidon, and a few
hundred yards from the sea. The relics of this find are now
preserved in the museum at Constantinople. There is one
sarcophagus so remarkable that, if there were good evidence
that Alexander were finally buried at or near Sidon ; or if the
mummy that was found sleeping his last sleep in that sar-
cophagus corresponded closely to what Alexander's mummy
would probably be ; or if there were any other external evi-
dence, there would then be little doubt that the tomb was
veritably that of Alexander. But even without these impor-
tant items of evidence, many antiquarians are fully convinced
that this is the tomb that enclosed the remains of the great
conqueror, and no other. In any case, the bare possibility,
not to say the probability, that this belief is correct, renders
the find of great interest. The subject is fully discussed in
Macmillan's Magazine for January, 1893. From that article
we venture to add the following paragraph, which is part of
the description of the sarcophagus : — This magnificent sarco-
phagus, constructed out of a single piece of pure white marble,
measures no less than eleven feet in length, five feet nine
inches in breadth, and four feet eight inches in height, and is
surmounted by a lid nearly three feet high. As was often the
case of noted heroes of those ancient days, the scenes depicted
upon the sides and ends represent respectively Peace and War.
One side and one end is devoted to each of these two subjects.
The former depicts a hunting scene, the latter a conflict be-
tween Persians and Greeks. ... As was generally the case
in Greek battle scenes the principal persons on either side are
represented at the opposite ends of the group. The Persian
leader [in this sculpture] bears a close resemblance to the

JEtat. 33.] HIS CHARACTER. 407

archon at Athens, (about Midsummer, B.C. 323.)
He lived, according to Aristobulus, thirty-two years
and eight months, of which he reigned twelve years
and eight months. In body he was most handsome,
most indefatigable, most active, in mind most
manly, most ambitious of glory, most enterprising,,
and most religious. In sensual pleasures he
was most temperate, and of mental excitements insa-
tiable of praise alone. Most sagacious in discover-
ing the proper measures while yet enveloped in
darkness, and most felicitous in inferring the prob-
able from the apparent. In arraying, arming, and
marshalling armies most skilful. In raising the
soldiers' courage, filling them with hopes of victory,
and dispelling their fears by his own undaunted
bearing, most chivalrous. In doubtful enterprises
most daring. In wresting advantages from enemies
and anticipating even their suspicions of his measures
most successful. In fulfilling his own engagements
most faithful, in guarding against being overreached
by others most cautious. In his own personal ex-
penses most frugal, but in munificence to others most
unsparing.

" If then he erred from quickness of temper and
the influence of anger, and if he loved the display
of barbarian pride and splendor, I regard not these

figure of Darius, as represented on the famous Pompeiian
mosaic ; while concerning the Greek captain there can be no
mistake whatever, for his features, face and general appear-
ance are identical with those stamped on the coins of Alex-
ander the Great, even to the head-dress formed of a lion's
head."

108 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

as serious offences; for, in candor, we ought to take
into consideration his youth, his perpetual success,
and the influence of those men who court the societv
of kings, not for virtuous purposes, but to minister
to their pleasures and to corrupt their principles. On
the other hand, Alexander is the only ancient king
who, from the native goodness of his heart, showed a
deep repentance for his misdeeds. Most princes,
even when conscious of guilt, foolishly attempt to
conceal their crimes, by defending them as rightly
done. The only atonement for misdeeds is the
acknowledgment of the offender, and the public
display of repentance. Injuries are the less keenly
felt by the sufferers, and hopes are entertained that
he, who shows sorrow for the past, will not be guilty
of similar offences in future. Neither do I esteem
his claim to divine origin as a serious offence, as
perhaps it was only a device, to ensure due respect
from his subjects. Minos, ^Eacus, and Rhadaman-
thus were never accused of offensive pride, because
men of old referred their origin to Jupiter : no more
were Theseus and Ion, the reputed sons of
Xeptune and Apollo. Yet Alexander was surely
not a less illustrious king than these. I regard the
Persian dress also as only a device to prevent the
barbarians from regarding their king as a foreigner
in all respects, and to show the Macedonians that
he possessed a refuge from their military asperity
and insolence. For the same reason he mixed the
Persian bodv-iruards with the Macedonian infantrv,
and their nobility with his own select cavalry. Even

JEtat. 33.] HIS CHARACTER. 409

his convivial parties, as Aristobulus writes, were not
prolonged for the sake of the wine, of which he drank
little, but for the sake of enjoying social converse
with his friends.

" Let him (concludes Arrian) who would vilify
Alexander, not select a few blameworthy acts, but
sum up all his great deeds and qualities, and then
consider who and what he himself is who would thus
abuse the man who attained the pinnacle of human
felicity — who was the undisputed monarch of both
continents — and whose name has pervaded the whole
of the earth. Let him consider these things — es-
pecially if he be of no consideration, a laborer in
trifles, and yet unable properly to arrange even them.
There did not, as I believe, in that age exist the
nation, the city, nor the individual, whom the name
of Alexander had not reached. My own opinion,
therefore, I will profess, that not without especial
purpose of the deity such a man was given to the
world, to whom none has ever yet been equal." *

* Alexander made an empire but he did not succeed in found-
ing a dynasty. Had lie lived into middle life or old age, it is
probable that he would have crystallized his work and policy
so that both would long have endured. But as soon as the
great leader was dead, the feuds and intrigues of the royal
family and the generals, led to the speedy extinction of the
royal house and the partition of the empire. Roxane, Alex-
ander's first wife and the mother of his posthumous child, be-
gan the bloody work by murdering Statira (Barsine) the
daughter of Darius and the emperor's second wife. Then
Olympias, mother of Alexander, put to death Philip Arridaeus
and Eurydice his wife, and Cassander killed Olympias and

410 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. [B.C. 323.

later he also put to death both Roxane and her son. Some
historians give these murders in a different order, but in any
case the family of Alexander was extinct within fourteen
years of his death. And within a quarter of a century, his
great empire had split into four smaller empires, as a result of
the ambition and rivalry of the leading generals. These four
empires were — Thrace and Asia Minor ruled by Lysimachus,
Macedonia and Greece ruled by Cassander, Syria and Baby-
lonia ruled by Seleucus, and Egypt ruled by Ptolemy. The
sovereignty of Lysimachus and Cassander soon disappeared,
but the house of the Seleucidae ruled in Asia for two hundred
and fifty years, while the Ptolemies reigned in great splendor
over Egypt for nearly three centuries, or as long as from the
landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth to the present day.
What may be called the Alexandrian civilization was long
continued in the B}Tzantine empire, so that the seat of the
Roman empire was for centuries upon the Bosphorus rather
than the Tiber. Finally, that wonderful intellectual and art-
istic awakening of all Europe which took place in the fifteenth
century, known as the Renaissance, was occasioned by the
distribution of the Greeks throughout Italy after the fall of
Constantinople in 1453. This marvellous continental move-
ment, occurring eighteen hundred years after the death of
Alexander, was a real, though remote result of his influence
upon civilization. And yet he was king for only about twelve
years, and died when only thirty-two. What he might have
done for the advancement of civilization, had he lived out the
ordinary term of man's life, the imagination is unable to
grasp.

THE END.

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By Cha3.

Alexandre

By Chaa.
By Jane

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1

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